Research data management –
an introduction
Slides provided by the DaMaRO Project,
University of Oxford
April 13, 2015
Research
Services
What is research data management?
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Research data is all the information you make use of in
your research
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Structured data (in databases, tables, etc.)
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Unstructured data (in textual sources, images,
audio recordings, personal notes, emails, etc.)
Data management is how you organize, structure, and
care for this
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Storage, backing up, and data preservation
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Preparing material for analysis, or to share with others
Research
Services
Research data
management –
an introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 2
Data management basics
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Be proactive – start early and think ahead
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Take time to look at your existing ways of dealing with
information
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Do they meet your current needs?
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Can you find what you need when you need it?
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Are files and data suitably labelled to aid retrieval?
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Will they continue to do so for the duration of your
research project?
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What about after that? What do you need to do to
enable further use of the data – by you or by others?
Research
Services
Research data
management –
an introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 3
Funding bodies’ requirements

Funders are increasingly requiring researchers to meet
certain data management criteria
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When applying for funding, you may need to submit a
technical or data management plan
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You may be asked to make your data available through
an archive

SHERPA JULIET provides a useful summary of
funding bodies’ policies
Research
Services
Research data
management –
an introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 4
Storage and backing up
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How are you storing your data for the duration of your
project? What’s your back-up plan?
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The HFS service offers free back-up to postgraduates
and university staff

Do you have access to space on a departmental server?
Synchronization software can help if you work on
multiple computers

Dropbox is popular – though others exist
Research
Services
Research data
management –
an introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 5
Data management tools
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Are you using the best tools for the task in hand?
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Don’t struggle on with the wrong software or technique just
because it’s what you know
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If you’ve ever thought ‘I wish I could…’, maybe someone else
has, too – and has written some software to make it possible

Tools exist to do a huge range of jobs – to help organize and
analyse information, annotate Web pages, PDFs, or images,
and much more
Discover new tools via the Research Skills Toolkit
website

You could also ask colleagues for recommendations, or
search for online reviews
Research
Services
Research data
management –
a brief introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 6
Longer term goals
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If you return to your data in a year or two, will it still be
intelligible?
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Is the data adequately documented?
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Does the format make it clear what everything means?
Are there abbreviations that need explanation?
Where did it come from? Who created it?
What changes have been made to it?
Is any additional information needed to place the data in
context?
Are there any restrictions on how it can be used?
What’s your long term storage plan?
Research
Services
Research data
management –
a brief introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 7
Planning for data sharing and curation
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Data sharing is…
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Good practice – helps make the most of data
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Good for you – improve your citation rate
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Now required by most major funders
Preserving and sharing data is much easier if planned
for from the beginning of a project

Is the data in an appropriate format? Does it have the
relevant documentation and metadata?

Are there confidentiality or IP issues?
Research
Services
Research data
management –
a brief introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 8
Depositing your data
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Consider depositing data in a repository or archive
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A straightforward way of ensuring long-term curation
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There are many subject-specific repositories
In 2013 Oxford will launch two new services
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DataBank – an institutional digital data archive
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DataFinder – a catalogue of datasets
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Email ORA@bodleian.ox.ac.uk for information or advice
Bodleian Libraries can also advise on metadata and
data standards, and can issue DOIs
Research
Services
Research data
management –
an introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 9
Training
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The IT Learning Programme offers courses on a wide
range of software
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Also database design, working with digital images, Web
publishing...
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Look out for courses specifically focusing on data
management
The Graduate Training site and the Skills Hub (both on
WebLearn) detail other training opportunities
Research
Services
Research data
management –
an introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 10
Advice and support
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The OU Research Data Management website provides
guidance and information about services
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IT Services’ InfoDev team for technical issues
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Departmental IT support teams
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IT Services’ NSMS offers paid-for services
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Bodleian Libraries for curation and metadata issues
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Ask your subject librarian for discipline-specific help
The Digital Curation Centre is a national body which can
provide advice on sharing and preservation
Research
Services
Research data
management –
an introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 11
Finally...
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See time spent on data management as an investment
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Spend a little time now to save more later
It can be a good task for times when you’re feeling tired
and uninspired

But remember that it’s supposed to save time, not
occupy it!
Research
Services
Research data
management –
an introduction
April 13, 2015
Page 12