Volunteers and Experts

By engaging both general volunteers and subject matter experts, the data help desk can provide comprehensive support to a wide range of users with varying levels of data management knowledge and diverse inquiry needs.

Volunteers to staff the desk for general user questions

  • Volunteers are essential for the day-to-day operation of the data help desk. They act as the first point of contact for users with data-related inquiries.
  • Volunteers can come from diverse backgrounds, including researchers, librarians, institution staff, and even students. A diversity of volunteers, both in terms of organizations and topics represented, is key to a successful help desk because researcher questions can vary widely.
  • Non-expert volunteers can also contribute during a meeting.
  • Volunteers can help by monitoring platforms and answering questions.
  • Volunteer tasks can include answering general data and software questions, suggesting questions and answers for an FAQ, and contributing recorded demos or one-pagers to an online resource gallery. In-person volunteers also staff the booth to answer questions and/or demo tools.
  • Volunteers often have little or no formal training in research data management, reflecting the user base they serve.
  • Effective onboarding of staff is crucial, providing them with information about ESIP, basic data management concepts, and guidelines for interacting with attendees. Training webinars ahead of time can ensure everyone is prepared. A “b-roll” or short training video and a list of potential questions can also be helpful.
  • Volunteers staffing the desk for AGU24 were given informed consent as they reported their experience answering questions, using a free AI assistant to capture notes immediately after each transaction.
  • Providing a set of questions to engage passers-by can help volunteers initiate conversations. If a volunteer cannot answer a question, they should record the user’s information and the question for follow-up.

Experts to field specific user questions and give presentations

  • Experts are crucial for addressing more complex or specialized user questions. They bring in-depth knowledge and experience in informatics and various scientific domains.
  • Experts specialize in topics like finding, sharing, analyzing, publishing, and citing data. They should also be comfortable sharing their science expertise and explaining concepts clearly.
  • Experts can volunteer during the help desk to provide specific answers, data/software/analysis resource locations, references to knowledgeable people, and demos.
  • Soliciting content from experts before the conference is important, including specific answers, and locations of data, software, and analysis resources.
  • Experts can contribute demos, talks, and one-pagers for the help desk, both before and during the conference.
  • Experts can be recruited by deciding on key topics and resources or by sharing a general form with relevant mailing lists. Past volunteers should also be invited. For smaller events, hand-picking a set of experts may be best.
  • Volunteer guidelines should encourage experts to tell others about the event and provide guidance on preparing answers and contributing one-pagers or recordings.
  • A Slack channel can be a valuable tool for backchannel conversation among experts, allowing them to monitor questions, provide input, and triage inquiries, especially for those less comfortable with public platforms like Twitter. A moderator can then share responses with the user.
  • Experts can contribute to the online resource gallery by sharing recorded demos or one-pagers about tools or resources.
  • Experts may be invited to give demos of tools and resources on-demand at the help desk.
  • The help desk can also feature “workshops” or more in-depth side events led by experts on key topics like data citation or data management plans.
  • Experts should avoid talking down to researchers and instead explain their understanding of why sound data management practices are important.
  • Volunteer satisfaction is crucial; organizers should strive to make their participation a good and productive use of their time. Sharing metrics on the impact of the event and surveying volunteers for feedback can help with this.