The document outlines the principles and practices of research data management (RDM) at the University of Oxford, emphasizing the importance of data storage, organization, and sharing. It discusses university policies and funding body requirements, detailing responsibilities for researchers regarding data accuracy, retention, and curation. Additionally, it covers strategies for managing files, the significance of documentation and metadata, and the necessity of creating data management plans to ensure long-term data preservation and compliance with legal and ethical standards.

1. Introduction to Research Data
Management
Slides provided by the Research Support
Team, IT Services, University of Oxford

2. What is data?
“A reinterpretable representation of information in a formalized
manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing.”
Digital Curation Centre
Introduction to research
data management
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project

3. What is data?
Any information you use in your
research
Introduction to research
data management
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project

4. What is research data management?
Storage
Organizing
Preservation
Documenting
Sharing
Choosing
technology
Versioning
Structuring
Backing up
Curation
Security
Introduction to research
data management

5. Carrots and sticks
 Work efficiently and
with minimum hassle
over the lifetime of the
project
 Save time and avoid
problems in the future
 Make it easy to share
your data
 University of Oxford
Policy on the
Management of
Research Data and
Records
 Funding body
requirements
Introduction to research
data management

6. University of Oxford policy
Introduced July 2012
Introduction to research
data management

7. University of Oxford policy
 The full policy can be viewed on the Research
Data Oxford website
 Covers the information needed ‘to support or
validate a research project’s observations, findings
or outputs’
 Research data should be:
 Accurate, complete, identifiable,
retrievable, and securely stored
 Able to be made available to others
Introduction to research
data management

8. University of Oxford policy
 Research data should be retained for ‘as long as they
are of continuing value to the researcher and the wider
research community’ – but a minimum of three years
 Specific requirements from funders take precedence
 Researchers are responsible for:
 Developing and documenting clear data management
procedures
 Planning for the ongoing custodianship of their data
 Ensuring that legal, ethical, and funding body requirements
are met
 Policy applies to University staff and doctoral students
Introduction to research
data management

9. Funders’ requirements
 Funding bodies are taking an increasing
interest in what happens to research data
 You may be required to make data publicly
available at the end of a project
 Many funders require a data management plan
as part of grant applications
 RDO website provides
a summary of requirements
Introduction to research
data management

10. EPSRC requirements
 EPSRC Policy Framework on Research Data
implemented in 2011
 Key requirements come into force in May 2015
 Papers must state how underlying
data can be accessed
 Data must be appropriately
preserved for at least ten years
 Further details on the RDO site
Introduction to research
data management

11. DAY-TO-DAY DATA
MANAGEMENT
Introduction to research
data management

12. Introduction to research
data management
‘What a mess’ by .pst, via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/psteichen/3915657914/.
Can you find what you
need, when you need it?
Once you’ve found it, will
it be clear what it is?

13. A gift to your future self – standard working
practices
 Set these up as early as possible in a project
 Clear structure for storing files
 File naming conventions
 Version information
 Document practices for future
reference
 Particularly important for teams
Introduction to research
data management

14. Tricks for managing files
 Add tags to files to aid searchability
 Search can be faster than hunting through folders
 Use hyperlinks to link files to each other
 Use shortcuts to avoid duplicating files
 Use file names to order files in a
folder, or to record version information
 Reassess your structure periodically
 Move unused items to an archive folder
Introduction to research
data management

15. Introduction to research
data management

16.  Order by date:
2013-04-12_analysis_ASPH.xlsx
2013-04-12_raw-data_ASPH.txt
2012-12-15_analysis_JARID1A.xlsx
2012-12-15_raw-data_JARID1A.txt
 Order by subject:
ASPH_analysis_2012-12-15.xlsx
ASPH_raw-data_2012-12-15.txt
JARID1A_analysis_2013-04-12.xlsx
JARID1A_raw-data_2013-04-12.txt
 Order by type:
Analysis_ASPH_2012-12-15.xlsx
Analysis_JARID1A_2013-04-12.xlsx
Raw-data_ASPH_2012-12-15.txt
Raw-data_JARID1A_2013-04-12.txt
 Forced order with numbering:
01_JARID1A_raw-data_2013-04-12.txt
02_JARID1A_analysis_2013-04-12.xlsx
03_ASPH_raw-data_2012-12-15.txt
04_ASPH_analysis_2012-12-15.xlsx
File naming strategies – examples
Introduction to research
data management

17. 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.
Introduction to research
data management
– Doctoral student researching communication history

18. 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
Introduction to research
data management

19. Research Skills Toolkit
 Website and hands-
on workshops
 A guide to software,
University services,
and other tools and
resources for
research
Introduction to research
data management
http://www.skillstoolkit.ox.ac.uk/

20. IT Learning Programme
 Over 200 different IT
courses
 Covering software, skills,
and new technologies
 ITLP Portfolio offers
course materials and
other resources
Introduction to research
data management
http://portfolio.it.ox.ac.uk/
http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/

21. ORDS – Online Research Database
Service
 Specifically designed for academic research data
 Create, edit, search, and share databases online
 Cloud-hosted and automatically backed up
 Designed to make key tasks straightforward
 Collaboration
 Publishing datasets
 Archiving data at end of project
 http://ords.ox.ac.uk/
Introduction to research
data management

22. KEEPING YOUR DATA SAFE
Introduction to research
data management

23. 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
Introduction to research
data management

24. Make multiple copies…
…and keep them in different places
Automate the
process if you can
Introduction to research
data management
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project

25. Think about your storage media…
Introduction to research
data management
… and about file formats
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project

26. Example back-up plan
 Raw data from instruments stored on the instrument
PC, which is backed up every couple of months to
DVDs
 Much raw data also transferred to desktop computers –
usually stored on external hard drives
 Analysed data (e.g. Excel spreadsheets and
PowerPoint files) stored in a shared folder on a
departmental server which is backed up daily
 Lab books are stored inside the laboratory in locked
cupboards
Introduction to research
data management

27. 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
 http://www.it.ox.ac.uk/hfs
Introduction to research
data management

28. 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
Introduction to research
data management

29. Data security
 If you’re working with sensitive data, it’s
essential to ensure that every copy kept has
appropriate security
 InfoSec at IT Services can provide advice
 http://www.it.ox.ac.uk/infosec/
Introduction to research
data management

30. DOCUMENTATION AND
METADATA
Introduction to research
data management

31. Documentation and metadata
 Documentation is the contextual information
required to make data intelligible and aid
interpretation
 A users’ guide to your data
 May be given at study level or data level
 Metadata is similar, but usually more structured
 Conforms to set standards
 Machine readable
Introduction to research
data management

32. Make material understandable
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
Introduction to research
data management

33. Make material verifiable and reusable
• Detailing methods helps
people understand what
you did
• And helps make your
work reproducible
• Provide context to
minimize the risk of
misunderstanding or
misuse
Image by woodleywonderworks , via Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/4588700881/
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project
Introduction to research
data management

34. Introduction to research
data management

35. Exercise
 In small groups, look at the sample data sheet
 Imagine you have just downloaded this dataset from an
archive
 What contextual or explanatory information is missing?
 Anything odd about the data that needs clarifying?
 What additional documentation
would you like to see supplied
 At the data level?
 At the study level?
Introduction to research
data management

36. • Who created it, when and why
• Description of the item
• Methodology and methods
• Units of measurement
• Definitions of jargon,
acronyms and code
• References to related data
Documentation – what to include
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project
Introduction to research
data management

37. Metadata – data about data
 A formal,
structured
description
of a dataset
 Used by
archives
to create
catalogue
records
Introduction to research
data management

38. ISA tools software suite
Introduction to research
data management
http://isa-tools.org/
Open source
metadata
tracking tools
for the life
sciences

39. Missing metadata – or the riddle of the
sixth toe
 This painting shows
Georgiana, Duchess of
Devonshire as Diana
 … or maybe Cynthia
 She has six toes – but
no one knows why
Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Georgiana_Cavendish,_Duchess_of_Devonshire_as_Diana.jpg
Introduction to research
data management

40. For discussion
 What data management
challenges have you
encountered?
 What strategies have you
personally found useful?
 Be ready to feed back to
the group
Introduction to research
data management

41. WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END
OF THE PROJECT?
Introduction to research
data management

42. Video by NYU Health Sciences Libraries: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2zK3sAtr-4
Introduction to research
data management

43. Long-term data management
 Key issues are preservation and sharing
 What needs to be preserved to validate your
research outputs?
 What does your funder require?
 Is there anything you’re obliged to destroy?
 What might have reuse value?
 Can you make any or all of your data
available for use by other researchers?
Introduction to research
data management

44. Repositories and archives
 Data repositories or archives offer a secure
long-term home for research data
 Re3Data.org and Databib offer searchable
catalogues of repositories
Introduction to research
data management

45. ORA-Data
 The University of Oxford’s institutional data archive
 Currently in pilot phase – full launch in May 2015
 Long term preservation for Oxford research datasets
without another natural home
 Datasets will be assigned DOIs
 Depositors can opt to make
datasets publicly available,
embargoed for a fixed period,
or hidden
Introduction to research
data management

46. ORA-Data
 ORA-Data will sit alongside ORA-Publications to form a
composite University archive
 Will also function as a catalogue of Oxford-created
data held in other archives
 Researchers depositing data
elsewhere strongly encouraged
to add a record to ORA-Data
 http://ox.libguides.com/
about-ora-data
Introduction to research
data management

47. Figshare
 Figshare is a free online data sharing platform
 Shared research is allocated a DataCite DOI
 A possible alternative to conventional repositories
 Where no suitable
repository is
available
 If you need a data
sharing solution in
a hurry
Introduction to research
data management

48. Why share data? Reputation
 Get credit for high quality
research
 Recognition for contribution
to research community
 Open data leads to increased
citations
 Of the data itself
 Of associated papers
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project
Introduction to research
data management

49. Why share data? Reuse
 Reduces duplication of
effort
 Allows public research
funding to be used more
effectively
 Use in contexts not
currently envisaged
 Extend research beyond
your discipline
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project
Introduction to research
data management

50. Why share data? Be a trailblazer!
 A paradigm shift in how research outputs are
viewed is occurring
 Data outputs are of increasing importance –
and are likely to become even more so
 Major journals are increasingly
looking to publish datasets
alongside articles
 Be at the forefront of an
important shift in the
academic world
Introduction to research
data management

51. Data sharing – concerns
 Ethical concerns
 Confidential or sensitive data
 Legal concerns
 Third party data
 Professional concerns
 Intended publication
 Commercial issues (e.g. patent protection)
Introduction to research
data management

52. • Redact or embargo if there is good reason
• Planning ahead can reduce difficulties
Data sharing – concerns
Introduction to research
data management
Slide adapted from
the PrePARe Project

53. Data licensing
 A licence clarifies the conditions for accessing
and making use of a dataset
 Lets users know
 What’s allowed without asking further
permission
 How to cite the work
 Specific requests to go beyond the
terms of the licence can still be made
Introduction to research
data management

54. Data licences - examples
 Creative Common licences
 Widely used and recognized
 Six different flavours, plus CC0
public domain dedication
 Open Data Commons
 Specifically designed for datasets
 Recognizes the structure/content
distinction for databases
Introduction to research
data management

55. Data licensing - guidance
 ‘How to License Research Data’
 A guide from the Digital Curation Centre
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/how-guides/license-research-data
Introduction to research
data management

56. DATA MANAGEMENT
PLANNING
Introduction to research
data management

57. Data management plans
 Ideally created in the early stages of a project
 While planning, applying for funding, or setting up
 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
Introduction to research
data management

58. Exercise
 Have a go at drafting a data management plan
for your own research
 If there are questions you can’t answer at this
stage, make a note of
 What you need to find out
 Decisions you need to make
Introduction to research
data management

59. DMP Online
 Create a data
management plan
using the DMP
Online tool
 Developed by the
DCC – a national
service providing
advice and
resources
https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk/
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/
Introduction to research
data management

60. ‘In preparing for
battle, I have always
found that plans are
useless but planning
is indispensable.’
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Introduction to research
data management

61. FURTHER INFORMATION AND
RESOURCES
Introduction to research
data management

62. Research data Oxford website
 Oxford’s central
advisory website
 University policy
is available
 Questions?
Email
researchdata
@ox.ac.uk
http://researchdata.ox.ac.uk/
Introduction to research
data management

63. 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,
building a database, etc.
 Meet with someone for a research data MOT
 For more information, see:
http://research.it.ox.ac.uk/
Introduction to research
data management

64. Research Data MANTRA
 Free online
interactive
training modules
 Aimed at
postgraduates
and early career
researchers
http://datalib.edina.ac.uk/mantra/
Introduction to research
data management

65. Any questions?
Ask now, or email us on
researchdata@ox.ac.uk
Slides and handouts available from
http://research.it.ox.ac.uk/rdmcourses
Introduction to research
data management

66. Rights and re-use
 This presentation is part of a series of research data management
training resources prepared by the IT Services Research Support
Team at the University of Oxford
 The slideshow is based on one developed during the Oxford-based
DaMaRO Project. Parts of it also draw on teaching materials
produced by the PrePARe Project, DATUM for Health, and DataTrain
Archaeology
 With the exception of clip art used with permission from Microsoft,
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
Introduction to research
data management