Title: The role of language and data stewardship practices in scientific knowledge production and dissemination: a comparative study of the Can-Peat and CongoPeat research networks
Citation: currently unpublished data set - part of the data will eventually be published and associated with a journal publication
Study Site: Canada and the Congo Basin (Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo) - virtually
Purpose: To understand the practices used and recommended by researchers and language experts/staff at Local Contexts, respectively, in terms of use of languages other than English and four data stewardship frameworks, including data management plans, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, the CARE (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, Ethics) principles for Indigenous data Governance, and the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reusability) principles.
Abstract: Linguistic diversity is a crucial, yet often overlooked, component of equitable and inclusive open science practices in the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge. This project investigates the role of language in data collection, management, and dissemination, and data steeardship practices within environmental research, focusing on two peatland research networks - Can-Peat in Canada and CongoPeat in the Congo Basin - as case studies. To achieve this, I will evaluate the strategies used for data collection, management, and dissemination within these networks, employing a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative data analysis with qualitative data gathered from knowledge contributors' preliminary questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and website content review. Key informants will consist of Can-Peat and CongoPeat researchers, including principal investigators, postdoctoral fellows, students, and staff, staff from the organization Local Contexts , and individuals with expertise in English, French, and the languages used by the Indigenous communities that live and rely on the peatlands in Canada and the Congo Basin. This study will address the following questions:
1.a. What are the current practices used by practitioners and recommended by language experts in Canada and the Congo Basin to consider, integrate, and adopt linguistic diversity into peatland data collection, management, and dissemination?
1.b. How can these practices inform future environmental research?
2.a. How are research data management plans, Indigenous Data Sovereignty and the FAIR and CARE principles considered, integrated, adopted, or overlooked in researchers’ data stewardship practices across the data lifecycle?
2.b. What barriers or facilitators do researchers encounter when considering, integrating, or adopting data management plans, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, FAIR, and CARE principles?
Supplemental Information Summary: All raw data containing confidential information (e.g., preliminary questionnaires and interviews) will not be published. All other data will be published.
Research: Can-Peat
Further Info:
Status: In-progress
Keywords:
biodiversity,
traditional knowledge,
policy,
conservation,
open science,
Indigenous Data Sovereignty,
Geographical coordinates: North: 83.15, South: 41.909 East: -52.619 West: -141.010
Bounding Temporal Extent: Start Date: 2025-04-01, End
Date: 2026-03-10
