Scientific research projects are underpinned by data built up during the project or collected together from previous research. In many cases this data will provide the evidence for the conclusions drawn from the project and will form the basis of theses and scientific papers. But what happens to all this data when the thesis has been submitted or the paper published? Would other researchers benefit from being able to access the data you have collected? How will the data be stored safely for the future?
Questions such as these have become increasingly important for researchers as funders increasingly expect investigators to submit detailed data management plans with funding applications. Other funders are placing more requirements on researchers to ensure that their data is preserved and properly described for future reuse and sharing.
Good research data management will help you organise the data you are creating in your project and help you with practical activities such as backing up data securely, handling licensing or ethical issues that arise with the data you are collecting and arranging the long-term archiving of your data in a suitable repository.
Oxford University is providing information, training and infrastructure to ensure that researchers can plan their data management activities and ensure that data is accessible during and after your project. An updated and improved Research Data Management website has been created which you can use to –
- Learn about data management
- Locate useful tools and guides for different data management tasks
- Find training courses on data managment
- Contact the Research Data Management support team with any questions
You can visit the new site here – http://researchdata.ox.ac.uk/
Research data management services and information at Oxford University are being provided through a collaboration of IT Services, Research Services and the Bodleian Libraries.