ROER4D Open Data Initiative

A principal objective of the ROER4D project was to build an empirical knowledge base on the use and impact of OER from a developing country perspective. To do so, the project adopted an Open Data Initiative for facilitating reuse of the content produced by the various sub-projects and network hub activities. It was hoped this would not only raise the visibility of the developing-country contribution to OER and higher education studies through producing a wide range of open resources that can be accessed, reused and redistributed by researchers, educators, policy-makers, and anyone with an interest in open education. The ROER4D Open Data Initiative performed two main functions: (1) Enhancing research quality by curating data produced by sub-project researchers, ensuring that it is appropriately presented, described, and accessible for reuse. (2) Supporting the development of an empirical baseline of OER research by supplementing published outputs with supporting data by project researchers. ROER4D published a total of six open datasets and associated research instruments arising from sub-project research, navigating challenges related to language translation, ethics and consent processes, and the de-identification of qualitative data. The datasets feature micro-data from studies undertaken in Afghanistan, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia and South Africa, and makes a valuable contribution to addressing the dearth of Open Data in the Open Education sphere. All ROER4D datasets are published under Creative Commons licences and are accompanied by extensive metadata and descriptive documentation in order to promote reusability. The ROER4D Open Data Initiative was presented as a service to sub-project researchers, forming an important component of the project’s research capacity building efforts. It helped increase the rigour of the research presented, highlighted challenges in ethics and consent processes and promoted the importance of a professional approach towards data stewardship amongst developing country researchers.