Research Data Management
The research data life-cycle
Why should we manage research data?
Researchers can personally benefit from good practice in research data management. It can:
- Ease navigation through required processes
- Protect your intellectual property
- Help locate and accurately distinguish between files/datasets
- Keep files/datasets secure
- Make it easier to share data with collaborators
- Improve the opportunities to collaborate, be published and cited, and to be given the opportunity to carry out more research.
In addition, many funders now mandate that research data should be discoverable, accessible and shareable and will have policies on how they expect research data to be managed. Check the relevant funder’s web pages for information.
Open data
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) supports the principles in the Concordat on Open Research Data (PDF, 178KB) that recognise that research data should wherever possible be made openly available for use by others in a manner consistent with relevant legal, ethical, disciplinary and regulatory frameworks and norms, and with due regard to the cost involved.
The FAIR data principles
The ‘FAIR data principles’ were published in Scientific Data in 2016. FAIR stands for: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. Following these principles will help researchers keep their research data as open as possible, as appropriate to the nature of the data and circumstances.
How can we manage research data?
What should you do next?
- Make a data management plan
- Follow the FAIR data principles
- Keep your data secure and make sure you have back up files
- Add your data to an open access repository: e.g, Research Space (use the item type ‘Dataset’), Figshare or a discipline specific repository such as GenBank (gene data) or Archaeology Data Service.
Help with research data management
If you need help or have questions about research data management, please speak to your supervisor. If you have queries about adding your research data to the Research Space Repository, please contact repository@canterbury.ac.uk