Data Management and Publishing Behaviour in Academic Archaeology : A Study at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University

Sammanfattning: This study looks into researchers’ data management and publishing behaviours within archaeology by interviewing researchers in the field and data management and publishing specialists. It takes a socio-cultural perspective, and the aim is to gain an understanding of the elements influencing the decision to publish research data within the field and what the current publishing needs there are for researchers in archaeology. Each informant has an academic background in archaeology and a prominent connection to Uppsala University in Sweden. Special focus is placed on the Digital Scientific Archive (DiVA). Each researcher interviewed for this study was found through publications of primary datasets at DiVA and perceptions of publishing options is considered an element shaping the intentions to publish and the behavioural outcome.Documentation practices and perceptions of data management professionalism has tremendous effect on the outcomes of archaeology and publishing practices, which is closely linked with determining data quality, and are becoming more of a requirement within the field. This study is interested in how archaeological data management and publishing behaviour influence the professional interpretations of human history. The Theory of Planned Behaviour is applied to the study for the purpose of thoroughly examine researchers’ data publishing behaviours. The theory assumes that behavioural intention which is shaped by the beliefs about a certain behaviour, is the strongest factor determining actual behaviour. This assumption is evaluated against the accounts of the study’s informants by means of investigating researchers’ perspectives on data publishing in relation to their actual behaviours around, and experiences of, the publishing process.  This is a two years' masters thesis in Library and information science.