Conceptualizing Slow Curation

Abstract

The pressure to do things quickly is a constant in our professional lives as data curators. But what if we slowed down our work? Taking inspiration from the Slow Movement and its various sub-genres, we propose the idea of Slow Curation, specifically for the application of curating research data. Data curation is the process of reviewing datasets to prepare them for sharing, use, and reuse. We have identified areas where Slow can be embraced in the Data Curation Network’s CURATE(D) model. We also advocate for a few ways, outside of curation, where data curators can collaboratively advocate for Slowing down our work for the better. Join us as we practice radical self-care and advocate for our communities by embracing Slow and easing our way out of Busy culture.Positionality Statements:All authors are employed at large and wealthy doctoral granting institutions in the United States. Their identities and experiences have directly informed and influenced this piece.Joanna is a cisgender, white, heterosexual, able bodied female. Wanda is a white gender non-conforming queer, able bodied person who is a first generation undergraduate and graduate college studentMikala is a cisgender, white, heterosexual, able bodied female.

Keywords

• data curation
• Slow Movement
• self care
• empathy
• data