Development and Introduction of a Disciplinary Data Repository for Sport Scientists Based on the Example MO|RE Data

eResearch Infrastructure for Motor Research Data

Abstract

In recent decades, the field of sports science has emerged as a discipline characterised by a substantial accumulation of data at the intersection of social and natural sciences. This wealth of data has contributed significantly to our understanding of human performance, training methods, health and well-being and other sport-related phenomena.
Data on motor performance have been collected in numerous national and international projects over several decades. The Institute of Sports and Sports Science (IfSS) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is one of the largest research centres for human motor performance testing and has funded the Competence Centre for Motor Performance and Motor Testing (KOMET). In 2013, the project group of Klaus Bös and Claudia Niessner registered the need of data management for motor test data in sports science. They started the project “eResearch infrastructure for motor research data”, which was funded by the German Research Foundation in two funding periods from 2014 to 2023. The MO|RE data1 repository emerged from this project. MO|RE data is the first disciplinary repository in sports science and offers these features: publication, search, citation, storage, mapping and harmonisation. During its development and subsequent implementation, it has raised many questions. In general, the basic functions of a repository are well understood, as its overall purpose is clear. However, it is crucial to address the specific needs of the sports science community and different target groups to ensure the repository’s practical utility post-publication. This includes considerations such as data harmonisation through standardisation to a common unit, linking datasets from different surveys, and other measures to enhance usability.
With the development of MO|RE data, the project group started an experiment on how specific a repository can be in order to have a defined target group and to address a specific need, and at the same time to be used by enough users to still be relevant and used in the future. Now, MO|RE data has to make the step from project object to routine operation.