Research project
CARMA
An increasing number of researchers in the social sciences, humanities, and arts (SSH+A) are working with non-traditional research outputs (NTROs), such as films, performances, and sound recordings. However, these forms of research often receive little recognition within the digital scholarly infrastructure, making them difficult to find and reuse.
- Duration
- 2025 - 2026
- Contact
- Andrew Hoffman
- Funding
- KIEM
The CARMA Project
The CARMA project (Community Archive and Repository for Multimodal and Artistic Research) aims to function as a collective space where SSH+A researchers at Leiden University can think together, explore the infrastructural landscape, and co-create a fit-for-purpose resource for cataloging NTROs beyond what is currently possible. With the potential for future integration into the university’s existing research information services, as well as into other scholarly communication infrastructures, this initiative has the overarching ambition of enhancing the inclusion and findability of NTROs in the digital scholarly record.
To achieve this vision, transdisciplinary collaboration between researchers and professionals from the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSW), the Faculty of Humanities (FGW), and Leiden University Libraries (UBL) is essential.
Goals of CARMA:
- Improve the visibility of NTROs within the digital scholarly record.
- Foster a culture of sharing and reusing these research outputs within the SSH+A community.
- Create a ‘living laboratory’ for collaboration.
Project development
The first step is to establish a dynamic space where researchers, research data management professionals, and experts in scholarly communication infrastructure can exchange and integrate knowledge and user needs. Next, in collaboration with technical experts from local and national infrastructures, the team will collectively prototype designs for a community-driven, NTRO-centered data service. Finally, in consultation with key infrastructure stakeholders, project members will identify a viable pathway for the implementation of CARMA.
Non-traditional research data and outputs (NTROs), such as films, sound recordings, and dance performances, are generally less visible in the digital scholarly record than their tabular and text-based counterparts. The limited findability and reuse of such resources threatens knowledge production and collaborations in fields where NTROs proliferate – especially the social sciences, humanities, and arts (SSH+A). Responding to this challenge, this project will facilitate transdisciplinary encounters among Leiden University researchers and professional staff from FSW, FGW, and UBL, aiming to (1) improve the visibility of NTROs in the digital scholarly record, and (2) further cultivate a culture of sharing and reuse of these outputs among the SSH+A community. As a first step, we will leverage the network of Leiden’s ReCNTR – the interfaculty hub for promoting and innovating multimodal and audiovisual research methods – in developing a ‘living laboratory’ as a venue for exchanging and integrating diverse knowledges and user needs from the SSH+A research community; as well as from the domains of research data management, open research information, and scholarly communications infrastructure. With the support of a software developer, laboratory members will collaborate on the iterative design and prototyping of a small-scale, community-driven resource that provides a common place for Leiden SSH+A researchers to more visibly catalogue (records of) their NTROs, with an eye towards possible future integration with Leiden’s existing research information services, and thus broader inclusion in the digital scholarly record. We call this tool CARMA: Community Archive and Repository for Multimodal and Artistic Research.