Research information management with Jeanine McGann
The University of Maine’s Advanced Research Computing, Security, and Information Management (ARCSIM) team provides technological assistance and reporting to UMaine researchers and their collaborators. In 2022, ARCSIM recruited Jeanine McGann as an information systems analyst. While her projects have been an instrumental part of UMaine’s transition to web-based platforms, McGann’s academic journey did not begin with computer science.
During her graduate studies at University of New Mexico, McGann worked for the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network, which introduced her to working with data, using web-based systems, and to tools such as Linux, SQL/MySQL, and PHP programming. After McGann finished graduate school, she worked for several universities on National Science Foundation grant-funded projects, developing a close familiarity with academic research environments.
As an information systems analyst, McGann provides technical support and data analysis for research information management and the Office of Research Administration (ORA) at UMaine. Alongside Kevin Wentworth, ARCSIM’s assistant director, McGann works on a variety of projects. One of the biggest projects has been bringing a new research management system, Kuali, online. Kuali is a web-based system for proposal submissions and award management. The process of migrating data from the old system to Kuali began when McGann first arrived at UMaine, and she has done extensive administrative and technical work to assist in the project, including attending a Kuali Days conference in California last April. While the system has been challenging to implement due to many moving parts, “It’s been a very positive experience,” McGann remarked. “I’ve gotten to work with many different people, hear different perspectives, and learn what people are doing in their work.”
In addition to Kuali, McGann has been collaborating with Wentworth and the University of Southern Maine on creating a new research portal. The new portal allows for monthly financial reviews and cost transfers, with the eventual goal of integrating research reporting as well. McGann is also working on supporting REDCap at UMaine, a web-based platform for surveys used in different UMaine labs, especially within the psychology department, for research purposes.
While her work for ARCSIM is different from the environmental data work McGann did prior to joining UMaine, she finds that UMaine is a good fit for her due to the large amount of ecological research going on. “I can still contribute to that as a support service to researchers. It worked out as its own little niche.” McGann hopes to eventually incorporate more of the environmental and ecological data management work she has done in future projects, but, she says, that is down the road. “ARCSIM is involved in a lot of different collaborations around campus. There will be future opportunities to incorporate that element of my work.”