Research data management
Research data play an important role in the research process. Careful and structured handling of research data is therefore part of good scientific practice and makes research results comprehensible and verifiable.
Research data management encompasses the entire life cycle of research data. It describes the organization, storage, preservation, and sharing of data collected and used in a research project. It involves the day-to-day management of research data during the lifetime of a research project. It also entails decisions about how to store and share data after the project is completed (for example, depositing the data in a repository for long-term archiving and access).
Policy
PMU recognizes in its Research Data Management Policy (in preparation) the vital importance of research data and its management for outstanding research and scientific integrity.
Data management plan
A data management plan (DMP) structures and describes the handling of research data. It is used to plan and keep track of the entire research lifecycle, avoid data loss, and clarify responsibilities at an early stage. The DMP answers the following questions, for example:
- What data is collected and how?
- How will the data be stored?
- How will the data be used?
- How will the data be preserved and made available to others after the end of the project?
Foundations and government institutions, such as the FWF or the European Commission, require grant applicants to submit data management plans (DMPs) with their grant proposals. The data management plan should be regarded as a "living" document and needs (depending on the funding body) to be updated throughout the duration of the project when significant changes occur. Each funding agency has specific requirements so be sure to check for your specific grant. More guidance and information on what should go into a DMP can be found at:
FWF DMP template and further information
Horizon 2020 FAIR Data Management Plan (DMP) Template
DMP Writing Guide from the MIT Libraries
DMP Writing Guide of the Digital Curation Centre
DMPonline
Data Management Tool of the California Digital Library
Data Management Tool RDMO
DMP Wizard
General information about DMP
Amnesia - Anonymization of Research Data (OpenAIRE)
Where to publish
Funding agencies are increasingly mandating that researches provide open access to research data from funded projects. Similarly, many publishers and journals also require the publication of data alongside the research paper e.g. as supplementary material, to ensure the transparency and reproducibility of research results.
The data should be published and stored in appropriate and trusted digital repositories. A trusted digital repository is committed to maintaining the repository in perpetuity, ensures minimal to zero data loss or data rot, and allows for version control. For instance, suitable solutions are subject-specific repositories such as Publisso, or interdisciplinary repositories such as Zenodo. You can also check the registry of all repositories re3data.org. A list of repositories in the life sciences can be found here.
