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Research Data Management in Environmental Studies: Scoping Review and Bibliometrics Analysis Cover

Research Data Management in Environmental Studies: Scoping Review and Bibliometrics Analysis

Open Access
|May 2025

Figures & Tables

Table 1

Stages of the scoping review framework.

1Identification of research questionsRQ1. What publication trends lead to the literature on RDM in environmental studies?
RQ2. What are the main themes that emerge on RDM in environmental studies?
2Identification of relevant studiesA preliminary review of pertinent studies was conducted to identify the keywords and concepts.
3Study selectionPerformed literature selection on six databases using the steps in PRISMA
4Charting the dataVisualising and grouping data to facilitate reporting of findings.
5Collating, summarising, and reporting resultsReport findings with PAGER
6Consult with stakeholders regarding findings (Optional stage)_
Table 2

Searching terms on ‘Research Data Management’ and ‘Environment’ keywords.

RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENTENVIRONMENT
research data management; scientific data management; data stewardship; research data servicesenvironment; environmental science; ecology; ecological; earth science; geoscience; physical science; nature; natural science; conservation; preservation; agricultural; forestry; forest; ecosystem; climate; biology; biodiversity
Figure 1

Adapted PRISMA flow diagram of search strategy.

Figure 2

Annual scientific production of RDM in environmental studies (1985–2023).

Figure 3

Keyword list of RDM themes in the environmental studies.

Figure 4

Thematic map of RDM themes in environmental studies.

Figure 5

Co-occurrence of keywords: 108 out of 1460 keywords met the threshold of a minimum of four occurrences.

Table 3

Distribution of research themes and keywords across RDM clusters in Environmental Studies.

CLUSTERTHEMEDESCRIPTION
RedData managementThe red cluster consists of 41 keywords, focusing on “Data Management” on environmental studies by looking at the 10 highest co-occurrences of data management, information management, metadata, digital storage, ecology, open data, fair data, information system, and research. In this cluster, the relationship between RDM and the environmental fields is most visible compared to the others. The relationship can be seen in ecology, biodiversity, climate change, ecosystems, plants, climatology, earth science, environmental management, and environmental science (Appendix 1).
GreenInformation processing and biomedicineThe green cluster encompasses 26 keywords discussing RDM in information processing that focus on biology and medicine research, as can be seen from the keywords information processing, human, software, medical research, big data, bioinformatics, biomedical research, biology, biomedicine, computational biology, and human experiments (Appendix 1).
BlueRDM practicesThe blue cluster consists of 25 keywords discussing various RDM activities that can be seen in the 10 highest co-occurrence keywords: data sharing, data curation, data repository, data preservation, digital preservation, fair principles, research management, big data, data management plan, institutional repositories, and data reuse (Appendix 1).
YellowRDM and supporting systemThe yellow cluster amounted to 16 keywords, which indicated the supporting system of RDM that involves librarians in academic libraries supporting research through RDM services. The keywords supporting the statement are research data management, research data, academic libraries, librarian, open access, universities, collaboration, bibliometrics, library services, and research support (Appendix 1).
Table 4

PAGER analysis results for RDM in environmental studies.

PATTERNADVANCES
Data managementDescriptionSources
Data management and FAIR principles(Hampton et al., 2015; Onyancha, 2016; Ghaffar et al., 2020; Mayer et al., 2021; Arend et al., 2022)
Integration and interoperability(Arend et al., 2022; Gadelha et al., 2022; Felden et al., 2023; Williams et al., 2023)
Open science and data sharing(Hampton et al., 2015; Aubin et al., 2020; Brinkhaus et al., 2023; Felden et al., 2023)
Technological innovation and adoption(Knapp, 2008; Curry et al., 2019; Liggins and Noble, 2021; Blumberg et al., 2022)
Collaboration and infrastructure(Hampton et al., 2015; Aubin et al., 2020; Felden et al., 2023)
Sustainability and cost efficiency(Curry et al., 2019; Ghaffar et al., 2020)
Indigenous perspectives and diverse criteria(Elshall et al., 2022; Liggins et al., 2022)
Information processing and biomedicineTraining and professional development(Attwood et al., 2019; Read et al., 2019; Ashley Thomas and Martin, 2020)
Collaboration and knowledge sharing(Attwood et al., 2019; A Thomas and Martin, 2020)
RDM practices(Schmidt et al., 2022; Zhou, Xu and Kogut, 2023)
Data sharing and open science(Schmidt et al., 2022; Zhou, Xu and Kogut, 2023)
User-centered design and engagement(Read et al., 2019; Ashley Thomas and Martin, 2020)
RDM practicesRDM practices and strategies(Suhr et al., 2020; Feser et al., 2022; Roche et al., 2022; Gehlot et al., 2023; Rehnert and Takors, 2023)
FAIR principles and data reusability(Suhr et al., 2020; Chamanara et al., 2021; Kuhn Cuellar et al., 2022; Praetzellis et al., 2023)
Collaboration and interdisciplinary practices(Atwood et al., 2015; Kouper, Scheidt and Plale, 2021; Rehnert and Takors, 2023)
Technological advancements and tools(Zielinski, Hay and Millar, 2019; Chamanara et al., 2021; Feser et al., 2022; Kuhn Cuellar et al., 2022)
Standardisation and interoperability(Bowers, McPhillips and Ludäscher, 2008; Feser et al., 2022; Kuhn Cuellar et al., 2022)
Data sharing and open science(Murillo, 2022; Roche et al., 2022; Rehnert and Takors, 2023)
RDM and supporting systemRDM practices and services(Persaud et al., 2021; Ismail et al., 2022; Jiang et al., 2023; Weil et al., 2023)
Open science and data sharing(Beck et al., 2020; Brandt et al., 2021; Sherbinin et al., 2021; Katabalwa, Bates and Abbott, 2021)
Collaboration and integration(Persaud et al., 2021; Gossler et al., 2022; Jiang et al., 2023; Weil et al., 2023)
Policy development and support services(Kennan, Corrall and Afzal, 2014; Tripathi, Shukla and Sonkar, 2017; Katabalwa, Bates and Abbott, 2021)
Technological innovations and tools(Berkley et al., 2001; Andreu-Perez et al., 2015; Wachtler et al., 2021; Musen et al., 2022)
Data interoperability and reuse(Berkley et al., 2001; Sherbinin et al., 2021; Weil et al., 2023)
Data managementGAPS
DescriptionSources
Challenges in data sharing and fair compliance(Mayer et al., 2021; Gadelha et al., 2022; Brinkhaus et al., 2023; Williams et al., 2023)
Interoperability and integration issues(Aubin et al., 2020; Ghaffar et al., 2020; Gadelha et al., 2021)
Training and resource gaps(Liggins and Noble, 2021; Arend et al., 2022; Liggins et al., 2022)
Standardisation and metadata issues(Mayer et al., 2021; Arend et al., 2022; Williams et al., 2023)
Workflow and system limitations(Ghaffar et al., 2020; Blumberg et al., 2022)
Cultural and knowledge gaps(Liggins and Noble, 2021, 2021)
Data quality and completeness(Gadelha et al., 2021; Elshall et al., 2022)
Information processing and biomedicineTraining and awareness gaps(Read et al., 2019; Zhou, Xu and Kogut, 2023)
Engagement and usability challenges(Read et al., 2019; A Thomas and Martin, 2020)
RDM practicesChallenges in RDM(Chamanara et al., 2021; Feser et al., 2022; Kuhn Cuellar et al., 2022; Rehnert and Takors, 2023)
Adoption and implementation of advanced tools and practices(Feser et al., 2022; Kuhn Cuellar et al., 2022; Praetzellis et al., 2023)
Data sharing and reusability(Murillo, 2022; Roche et al., 2022; Rehnert and Takors, 2023)
Training and curriculum gaps(Kouper, Scheidt and Plale, 2021; Gehlot et al., 2023)
Sustainability and infrastructure limitations(Chamanara et al., 2021; Feser et al., 2022)
RDM and supporting systemTraining and capacity building in RDM(Suhr et al., 2020; Katabalwa et.al., 2021; Ismail et al., 2022)
Adoption and implementation of RDM practices(Katabalwa, Bates and Abbott, 2021; Persaud et al., 2021)
Challenges in open science and data sharing(Beck et al., 2020; Donaldson and Koepke, 2022; Weil et al., 2023)
Integration and interoperability issues(Denker et al., 2021; Persaud et al., 2021; Gossler et al., 2022)
Metadata and data quality concerns(Donaldson and Koepke, 2022; Beckett et al., 2023)
User experience and automation(Beck et al., 2020; Brandt et al., 2021)
Data managementEVIDENCE FOR PRACTICE
DescriptionSources
Implementation of FAIR principles and data stewardship(Arend et al., 2016, 2022; Mayer et al., 2021; Felden et al., 2023)
Collaboration and community engagement(Aubin et al., 2020; Liggins and Noble, 2021; Liggins et al., 2022)
Open science and data sharing(Hampton et al., 2015; Brinkhaus et al., 2023)
Practical strategies and tools for data management(Karasti, Baker and Halkola, 2006; Arend et al., 2014, 2016)
Real-world applications and pilot projects(Curry et al., 2019)
Data quality and harmonisation(Steffen et al., 2012; Felden et al., 2023)
Integration of advanced technologies(Avdis et al., 2018; Gadelha et al., 2021)
Information processing and biomedicineTraining and skill development(Atwood et al., 2015; Attwood et al., 2019)
Collaboration and community engagement(Atwood et al., 2015)
Practical applications of big data in healthcare(Andreu-Perez et al., 2015)
Metadata and data repositories(Schmidt et al., 2022)
sustainability and funding models(Atwood et al., 2015)
RDM practicesRDM Strategies and Implementation(Roche et al., 2022; Gehlot et al., 2023; Rehnert and Takors, 2023)
Data sharing policies and practices(Chamanara et al., 2021; Murillo, 2022; Roche et al., 2022)
Tools and infrastructure for RDM(Bowers, McPhillips and Ludäscher, 2008; Suhr et al., 2020; Feser et al., 2022)
Convergence and standardisation of RDM practices(Jones et al., 2020)
Survey findings and insights(Machina and Wild, 2013; Aydinoglu, Dogan and Taskin, 2017)
RDM and supporting systemRDM practices and integration(Persaud et al., 2021; Jiang et al., 2023)
Data quality and standardisation(Berkley et al., 2001; Boden, Krassovski and Yang, 2013; Sherbinin et al., 2021)
Tools and platforms for data management(Brandt et al., 2021; Gossler et al., 2022; Weil et al., 2023)
Data sharing and collaboration(Katabalwa, Bates and Abbott, 2021; Persaud et al., 2021)
Survey findings and insights(Corrall, Kennan and Afzal, 2013; Kennan, Corrall and Afzal, 2014)
Policy development and advocacy(Pinfield, Cox and Smith, 2014)
Data managementRESEARCH RECOMMENDATION
DescriptionSources
Training and capacity building(Katabalwa, Bates and Abbott, 2021; Arend et al., 2022; Liggins et al., 2022)
Implementation of fair principles and open science(Ghaffar et al., 2020; Mayer et al., 2021; Brinkhaus et al., 2023)
Data sharing and collaboration(Onyancha, 2016; Aubin et al., 2020; Gadelha et al., 2021)
Interoperability and integration(Curry et al., 2019; Ghaffar et al., 2020; Williams et al., 2023)
Scalability and infrastructure development(Gadelha et al., 2021; Felden et al., 2023; Williams et al., 2023)
Validation and performance assessment(Curry et al., 2019; Elshall et al., 2022)
Interdisciplinary research and holistic approaches(Liggins and Noble, 2021)
Information processing and biomedicineTraining and education in RDM(Read et al., 2019; A Thomas and Martin, 2020; Zhou, Xu and Kogut, 2023)
Integration of tools and best practices(Schmidt et al., 2022)
RDM practicesImportance of communication and collaboration in data management(Chamanara et al., 2021; Gehlot et al., 2023; Praetzellis et al., 2023)
Development and enhancement of data management tools and infrastructure(Chamanara et al., 2021; Feser et al., 2022; Praetzellis et al., 2023)
Evolution of data management plans (DMPs) and FAIR principles(Gehlot et al., 2023; Praetzellis et al., 2023)
Domain-specific expertise and training(Kouper, Scheidt and Plale, 2021; Gehlot et al., 2023)
Scalability and integration of data management systems(Suhr et al., 2020; Kuhn Cuellar et al., 2022)
Standardisation and best practices(Roche et al., 2022)
Long-term evaluation and impact assessment(Kouper, Scheidt and Plale, 2021)
Challenges in data sharing and resource availability(Rehnert and Takors, 2023)
Exploration of use cases and validation(Suhr et al., 2020; Kuhn Cuellar et al., 2022)
RDM and supporting systemCollaboration and community engagement in data management(Beck et al., 2020; Denker et al., 2021; Persaud et al., 2021)
Development and refinement of data management tools and systems(Gossler et al., 2022)
Data sharing policies and practices(Katabalwa, Bates and Abbott, 2021; Persaud et al., 2021)
Integration and adaptability of data management systems(Brandt et al., 2021)
Data citation and annotation(Weil et al., 2023)
Role of librarians and user feedback in data management(Donaldson and Koepke, 2022; Ismail et al., 2022)
Open science and its impact(Beck et al., 2020; Persaud et al., 2021)
Standardisation and best practices(Brandt et al., 2021; Musen et al., 2022)
Refining techniques and processes(Beckett et al., 2023)
Language: English
Page range: 20 - 20
Submitted on: Oct 26, 2024
Accepted on: May 12, 2025
Published on: May 30, 2025
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

© 2025 Rosini, Mudiyati Rahmatunnisa, Sunardi, Ida Fajar Priyanto, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.