Research Data Management Overview and Introduction

1. Research Data Management Overview and Introduction

2. Topics • What is research data management (RDM)and why is it important • National landscape and external drivers • Newcastle University response/policy/implications • Data lifecycle models • Problems, practical strategies and solutions • Benefits and barriers

3. What is RDM? “Research data management concerns the organisation of data, from its entry to the research cycle through to the dissemination and archiving of valuable results.” Whyte & Tedds, 2011 http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/briefing-papers/making-case-rdm

4. External drivers • Research funder policies (e.g. RCUK, charities) • Require Open Access, RDM plans or 'technical appendices' • Volume of digital research data ‘big data’ • Legislation & litigious environment • DPA, FOIA

5. Newcastle University • Providing excellent research infrastructure • Significant financial implications • More efficient research processes • Avoiding data loss • Benefits of data reuse • Better oversight of research outputs

6. What is research data? • Any material required to re-validate the results of research • Not only quantitative, tabular "hard scientific" data • Can include photographs, sculptures, letters, speeches, music… etc. • No limited definition stated in Newcastle University's draft RDM policy principles & code of good practice

7. Storing your research data • Digital • Computer hard disc/s and archive • Separate external drives • Cloud • Analogue • Paper • Tapes

8. What types of research data do you create and use? Where do you keep it? Activity: your research data

9. UK Data Archive data lifecycle • A dataset has a longer lifespan than the research project that created it

10. Digital Curation Centre (DCC) data activity lifecycle • A dataset has a longer lifespan than the research project that created it

11. DCC curation lifecycle model • Full lifecycle actions Description and Representation Information, Preservation Planning, Community Watch and Participation, Curate and Preserve • Sequential actions Conceptualise, Create or Receive, Appraise and Select, Ingest, Preservation Action, Store, Access, Use and, Reuse, Transform • Occasional actions Dispose, Reappraise, Migrate

12. Can you improve your research data management? Where are the weak points? Activity: Your research data cycle

13. Benefits for the researcher • Meet funding body grant requirements • Enhanced security/reduced risk of data loss • Improved use of resource(s), reduced duplication, access to external datasets • Verification of research publication claims • Stimulation of new collaborations and research opportunities

14. Benefits for the "public good" • Better value for the "public purse" • Building research and knowledge • Data and records are accurate, complete, authentic and reliable • Comply with legal and ethical considerations • Research integrity and replication

15. What are the barriers to participating? Activity: Barriers

16. In summary • RDM concerns the careful management of data throughout its lifecycle • Newcastle University is making a strong institution-wide response • The benefits outweigh the barriers!

17. Acknowledgements • iridium project (http://research.ncl.ac.uk/rdm/) • Netskills (http://www.netskills.ac.uk) • Digital Curation Centre (DCC) (http://www.dcc.ac.uk/) • The UK Data Archive • http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage • DaMaRO RDM Training Materials, University of Oxford • http://damaro.oucs.ox.ac.uk/training_materials.xml • Research data MANTRA [online course], EDINA and Data Library, University of Edinburgh • http://datalib.edina.ac.uk/mantra/