OSCARS session on Data management terminologies at RDA’s 25th Plenary

OSCARS will contribute to the International Data Week - IDW2025 with the session at the RDA 25th Plenary - Data management terminologies: from challenges to community recommendations - to be held on the 16th of October, from 03:30am to 05:00 CEST, in Brisbane, Australia.

The session will present a collaborative paper in preparation, to be endorsed as an RDA output at Plenary 25 and submitted in a scientific journal. The paper is based on the work initiated during Plenary 23, building on the challenges and insights shared by the community during that session. All interested participants were and are invited to contribute as co-authors.

The session focuses on the standardisation of data management terminologies, with an emphasis on FAIR principles and the enhancement of data management quality. Ambiguous or overlapping terms—such as Data Steward vs. Data Custodian, Dissemination vs. Archiving, or Repository vs. Data Lake—often lead to confusion, inconsistent practices, and reduced interoperability.

By analysing terminology issues and alignment processes, we aim to improve the reliability, reproducibility, and usability of research data. The session will also address terminology governance and identify gaps in existing glossaries to support high-quality, sustainable data management across disciplines. The session finally aims to build a recommendations framework and an adaptable checklist for terms adoption in specific research communities.

Meeting presenters

Romain David, Anne-Sophie Bage, Nektarios Liaskos, Paul Millar, Alison Specht, Pedro Correa

Meeting agenda

Chair: Romain David (facilitated via Radical Collaboration method)

1. Opening & Context
   Content of the paper and objectives of the session — 15 min
   (Romain David)
2. Round Table: Statements, Challenges & Solutions — 30 min
   (Each speaker presents briefly on their thematic area – approx. 5 min each)
   • Anne-Sophie Bage: Terminologies for Data Management Plans
   • Romain David: Terminologies for Competence Centres
   • Paul Millar: Terminologies for Data Services
   • Nektarios Liaskos: Terminologies for Virtual Research Environments (VREs)
   • Alison Specht: Terminologies for Data and Multilingual Challenges
   • Pedro Correa: Terminologies for Data in Machine Learning
3. Open Discussion — 30 min
   • Strategies for harmonised terminology across data management tools supporting FAIR principles
   • Governance models for maintaining consistency and usability
   • The role of standardised terminologies in enhancing data quality, cataloguing services, and skills development
4. Prioritisation of Recommendations (Interactive via Slido) — 10 min
5. Wrap-Up & Next Steps for the paper

Target audience

Researchers, data stewards, data custodians, data managers

Browse the full programme