Abstract

This study examined the activities of Community of Practice (CoP) of research data curators, including their community building and maintenance activities, by using activity theory as its main theoretical framework. The study used an embedded multiple-case study design for exploring the activities of three CoP of research data curators. The case study design used document analysis and semi-structured interviews to collect data. Besides the community building and maintenance activities, other activities were performed in the CoP of research data curators, which could be largely divided into curation activities, education activities, and communication activities. Membership was largely divided into institutional membership and individual membership, and the motives for members to join and contribute to the CoP vary from extrinsic to intrinsic motivations. Finally, we identified and categorized challenges and success indicators for CoP of research data curators as perceived by participants. In particular, we identified three types of challenges or contradictions the communities faced and 14 perceived indicators of success. This study informs the practice of research data curation by providing a knowledge base for building and maintaining a CoP of research data curators.