As mentioned earlier in this chapter, digital resource creation is often closely related to a specific research agenda. This has a number of implications, both desirable and undesirable, which can be treated as opportunities and risks.

Opportunities include:

• If carefully managed, a research agenda can act as a testbed environment for usability of a digital resource, beyond the scope of the original ('minimum') set of questions a project intends to answer. The separation between resource and project objectives advocated in Section 3.2.2 is crucial for capitalising on this opportunity.
• Resource creation, undertaken as a stand-alone project, can easily become over-ambitious in scope. A close link with a research project or teaching purpose provides a specific focus for digital resources and helps to define their boundaries. This safeguards against over-ambitious aims and objectives.
• 'Creating digital resources' is often difficult to justify as a purpose in itself. Linking digital resource creation to research activities may increase the potential for acquiring external funding. Many important resource creation activities would never have been funded separately.

The link between resource creation activities and research also introduces risks. These may include:

• Digital resource creation is often considered secondary to the research, and only receives attention in direct relation to specific research objectives. It can become tempting to transcribe historical sources only partially, or to structure digital resources in ways considered suitable or ideal for the specific research agenda. Existing standards may be ignored or only receive limited attention. As a result, the resource may lack the flexibility to contribute to answering questions other than the original ones. This is in many respects the flip side of the first two opportunities mentioned above.
• The time, effort, skills and money involved in resource creation are often under-estimated. Data analysis and software development can be time-consuming and require specific skills. Suitable hardware and software can be expensive. An emphasis on research can result in late recognition of these facts, if they are recognised at all. Because digital resource creation is likely to underpin the wider research agenda, this can be a serious risk for the intended research.
• Accurate and complete documentation may not be given high priority, because the focus is on use of the digital resource within the research project, where it is often assumed that everyone is familiar with the specifics of its creation and structure, or has easy access to expert knowledge. Section 2.6 of this guide explains why complete and accurate project documentation is important, and Chapter 5 provides a detailed overview of data documentation issues.

An additional risk, not specifically related to resource creation within the context of research projects, involves copyright and intellectual property right issues. Increasingly, projects involving digital resource creation encounter problems to do with these issues. It is important that potential issues of rights management and clearance are recognised early on and adequate expertise and funding is found, if warranted by the nature of the situation.

The lists of opportunities and risks in this section are far from complete, and are only meant to indicate some important issues for consideration when creating digital resources. It is good practice to list as many opportunities and risks as possible before a project starts. By identifying suitable courses of action for different scenarios, the project becomes more robust. In particular, anticipating risks can significantly reduce the number and impact of unpleasant surprises during a project.