This slideshow was used at a training session delivered at the Social Sciences Division, University of Oxford, on 2014-05-07. It provides some tips for keeping your research material under control.

1. Keeping on top of your
research data
Slides provided by members of the
University of Oxford inter-departmental
research data support team

2. What does data include?
“A reinterpretable representation of information in a formalized
manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing.”
Digital Curation Centre
Keeping on top of your
research data
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project

3. What does data include?
Any information you use in your
research
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project
Keeping on top of your
research data

4. Introductions – what sort of data are you
working with?
 Qualitative?
 Quantitative?
 Network data?
 Images?
 Multimedia?
 Other data types?
 Data you’re creating or
gathering?
 Third party datasets?
Keeping on top of your
research data

5. Carrots and sticks
 Work efficiently and
with minimum hassle
now
 More time for the
meat of the research
process
 Avoid problems in the
future
 University of Oxford
Policy on the
Management of
Research Data and
Records
 Funding body
requirements
Keeping on top of your
research data

6. Policy and funder requirements
 University of Oxford Policy states that research
data should be:
 Accurate, complete, identifiable, retrievable, and
securely stored
 Able to be made available to others
 Funders are also taking an increasing interest
in data
 Many require it to be shared at the end of a project
Keeping on top of your
research data

7. Consider a data management plan
 A document which may be created in the early
stages of a project
 While planning, applying for funding, or setting up
 An initial plan may be expanded later
 Details plans and expectations for data
 Nature of data and its creation or acquisition
 Storage and security
 Preservation and sharing
Keeping on top of your
research data

8. Digital Curation Centre
 A national service
providing advice and
resources
 Create a data
management plan
using the DMP online
tool
https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk/
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/
Keeping on top of your
research data

9. DMP20
 DMP20 is an online form that allows the
creation of a simple data management plan
 Based on David Shotton’s Twenty Questions for
Research Data Management
Keeping on top of your
research data
http://www.miidi.org/dmp/

10. Forward planning pays dividends
 Plan with sharing in mind from the beginning
 Appropriate consent from interview subjects
 UK Data Archive offers example consent forms
 Distinguish third
party and new data
Keeping on top of your
research data

11. What’s obvious
now might not
be in a few
months, years,
decades…
Adapted from ‘Clay Tablets with Linear B Script’ by Dennis, via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/5692813531/
MAKE SURE
YOU CAN
UNDERSTAND
IT LATER
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project
Keeping on top of your
research data

12. ‘What a mess’ by .pst, via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/psteichen/3915657914/.
Can you find what you
need, when you need it?
Keeping on top of your
research data

13. Hierarchical systems vs. tagging
 Hierarchical organization uses nested folders
 Default option for most operating systems
 Tagging allows more flexibility
 Items can be in multiple categories
 Some operating systems support tagging
 File tagging software is also
available
 Sort… or search?
Keeping on top of your
research data

14. Adding tags in Windows 7
Keeping on top of your
research data

15. Hyperlinks and shortcuts
 Hyperlinks can lead to other files on your
computer, as well as Web links
 Use shortcuts to avoid duplicating files
 Create project folders to group related
material together
 Access key folders quickly with
the Windows ‘Favorites’ feature
Keeping on top of your
research data

16. File naming
 Aim for concise but informative names
 Ideally, you should be able to tell what’s in a file
without opening it
 Think about the ordering of elements within a
filename
 YYYY-MM-DD dates allow chronological sorting
 You can force an order by adding a number at
the beginning of the name
 Consider including version information
Keeping on top of your
research data

17. File naming strategies – examples
 Order by date:
2013-04-12_interview-recording_THD.mp3
2013-04-12_interview-transcript_THD.docx
2012-12-15_interview-recording_MBD.mp3
2012-12-15_interview-transcript_MBD.docx
 Order by subject:
MBD_interview-recording_2012-12-15.mp3
MBD_interview-transcript_2012-12-15.docx
THD_interview-recording_2013-04-12.mp3
THD_interview-transcript_2013-04-12.docx
 Order by type:
Interview-recording_MBD_2012-12-15.mp3
Interview-recording_THD_2013-04-12.mp3
Interview-transcript_MBD_2012-12-15.docx
Interview-transcript_THD_2013-04-12.docx
 Forced order with numbering:
01_THD_interview-recording_2013-04-12.mp3
02_THD_interview-transcript_2013-04-12.docx
03_MBD_interview-recording_2012-12-15.mp3
04_MBD_interview-transcript_2012-12-15.docx
Keeping on top of your
research data

18. File naming strategies – examples
In retrospect I am not very happy with the method I
used for naming files. The biggest problem was with
the newspaper articles I downloaded… I named the
files only based on the topic of the article, without
mentioning the name of the periodical and the year
of publication, which would have been very useful
later, when I began writing the thesis.
– Doctoral student researching communication history
Keeping on top of your
research data

19. Are you using the right tools for the job?
 Take time to assess whether your current
software and methods are meeting your needs
 Sticking with old familiars can be false
economy
 Ask friends and colleagues for
recommendations
Keeping on top of your
research data

20. Be aware of options and seek training
 Reference and citation tools:
 Refworks
 Endnote
 Zotero
 Mendeley
 Follow the ‘managing your references’ link on Solo
and/or LibGuides
 Be aware of your departments citation rules
Keeping on top of your
research data

21. Designing your data
 Create your data on basis of informed decisions
 Database design – IT Services training courses
 Methodology literature
 Archival guidelines e.g. UK Data Archive ‘Create
& Manage Data’ pages
 http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage
Keeping on top of your
research data

22. Numerical data
 Explore key numerical software packages
 Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
 Stata (more recent alternative to SPSS)
 R (another alternative)
 What is in use in your work environment?
 What tools and commands look useful?
Keeping on top of your
research data

23. Non-numerical data
 Ensure transcription style is thought through and
appropriate to analysis
 Look for examples and guidelines
 Methodology literature
 UKDA resources http://www.data-
archive.ac.uk/create-manage/format/transcription
Keeping on top of your
research data

24. Potential of CAQDAS
 Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software
 Various packages that; code text, allow searching,
create memo fields, designate attributes
 Leading examples NVivo, Atlas-ti, Max-QDA,
Transana, QDA Miner and more
 Potentially may be applied to text, audio, images and
video
 http://onlineqda.hud.ac.uk/
Keeping on top of your
research data

25. Support of CAQDAS
 Always check what support is available through
Bodleian and IT Services e.g. Introduction to NVivo 10
workshop
 Outline of using NVivo with data (UK Data Archive)
 http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/media/262066/ukda-
datamanagement-nvivo.pdf
 Comparison
 http://www.surrey.ac.uk/sociology/research/researchcentres/c
aqdas/support/choosing/index.htm
 But what is in use in your field?
Keeping on top of your
research data

26. Data management and analysis
 Data management is not a stage before and after
research
 Data management blends with analysis
 Databases should be created that are the launch pad
for data collection and analysis
 Most tools include features that allow analysis and
creation of metadata (Stata, Atlas-ti etc.)
 Digital data has strengths and weakness and benefits
from more forward planning
 Keep on top of it – and on top of support services…
Keeping on top of your
research data

27. ORDS – Online Research Database
Service
 Specifically designed for academic research data
 Cloud-hosted and automatically backed up
 Web interface makes collaboration straightforward
 If desired, databases can easily be made public
 Designed to permit easy archiving
 Currently being used by a small group of test users –
will become more widely available
later in 2014
 http://ords.ox.ac.uk/
Keeping on top of your
research data

28. Research Skills Toolkit
 Website and hands-
on workshops
 A guide to software,
University services,
and other tools and
resources for
research
 Requires SSO login
http://www.skillstoolkit.ox.ac.uk/
Keeping on top of your
research data

29. IT Learning Programme
 Over 200 different IT
courses
 Covering software, skills,
and new technologies
 ITLP Portfolio offers
course materials and
other resources
http://portfolio.it.ox.ac.uk/
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/
Keeping on top of your
research data

30. http://blogs.ch.cam.ac.uk/pmr/2011/08/01/why-you-need-a-data-management-plan/
Backing up is
easier than
replacing
lost data…
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project
Keeping on top of your
research data

31. Make multiple copies…
…and keep them in different places
Automate the
process if you can
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project
Keeping on top of your
research data

32. IT Services: Data Back-up on the HFS
 HFS is Oxford’s central back-up and archiving
service
 Free of charge to University staff and
postgraduates
 Automated back-ups of machines connected to
University network
 Copies kept in multiple places
Keeping on top of your
research data

33. File syncing
 If you work on
multiple devices,
consider file syncing
software
 Always have the
latest copy of your
files available
 But be careful with
sensitive data
Keeping on top of your
research data

34. ORA-Data (formerly DataBank)
 University of Oxford’s institutional data archive
 Will work alongside ORA-Publications to form a
composite University archive
 Long term preservation for datasets without another
natural home
 In some cases, may
be a suitable home
for DPhil data
Keeping on top of your
research data

35. IT Services: Research Support Team
 Can assist with technical aspects of research
projects at all stages of the project lifecycle
 Help with DMPs, selecting software or storage, etc.
 But the earlier you seek advice, the better
 For more information, see:
http://research.it.ox.ac.uk/
Keeping on top of your
research data

36. Research data management website
 Oxford’s central
advisory website
 University policy
is available
 Questions?
Email
researchdata
@ox.ac.uk
Keeping on top of your
research data
http://researchdata.ox.ac.uk/

37. Research Data MANTRA
 Free online
interactive
training modules
 Aimed at
postgraduates
and early career
researchers
http://datalib.edina.ac.uk/mantra/
Keeping on top of your
research data

38. Upcoming courses and events
 Full details on WebLearn’s Researcher Training site
 Social Science Data Archives and Statistical Databases
 Preparing Your Research Data for the Future: What You
Can Do Now to Avoid Problems Later
 Managing Your Social Science Research Data from
Beginning to End
 Introduction to MANTRA
 Working with Sensitive or Confidential Research Data
 Things To Do With Data lunchtime talk series (see
http://research.it.ox.ac.uk/datatalks)
Keeping on top of your
research data

39. Any questions?
Ask now, or email us on
researchdata@ox.ac.uk
Keeping on top of your
research data

40. Rights and re-use
 This presentation is part of a series of research data management training
resources prepared by members of the University of Oxford inter-
departmental research data support team. The team includes people from
the IT Services Research Support Team, and the Bodleian Libraries.
 Parts of this slideshow draw on material produced as part of the Oxford-
based DaMaRO Project, and on resources produced by the PrePARe
Project
 With the exception of clip art used with permission from Microsoft, and
commercial logos and trademarks, and images specifically credited to
other sources, the slideshow is made available under a Creative
Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike License
 Within the terms of this licence, we actively encourage sharing,
adaptation, and re-use of this material
Keeping on top of your
research data