Abstract

As the digital technologies and internet have advanced, data have centered in the process of meaningful scientific ramifications and policy making in a wide variety of fields. Data curator in charge of managing data plays a significant role in terms of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of data management and re-uses. The purpose of this study is to identify the core competencies for data curator. For achieving the purpose of this study, two sets of data were collected. First, a total of 255 job descriptions were collected from the web sites including ARL, Digital Curation Exchange, Code4lib, ASIS&T JobLine for the period of 2011-2014. Second, in-depth interviews with five data curators from four diverse organizations were collected. The two sets of data were analyzed into seven categories identified from the related studies. Findings of this study showed that core competencies for data curator were identified into four categories, communication skills, data management techniques, knowledge and strategies for data management, and instructions and service provisions for users. The implications of this study can be considered as integrated and professional curriculum developments for data curator with core competencies.