Data management refers to the ways you plan to collect, document, store and share your research data. It is important to think about data management at the start of your research project. This will save you time and energy during your research. In addition, more and more funding agencies require you to write a Data Management Plan (DMP) or add a data-paragraph to your research grant application.
Data Management is essential throughout and even after finishing your research. The UK Data Archive developed an interactive Research Data Life Cycle map which shows the key-elements of Data Management in different research phases.
Guidelines data management plan #
A Data Management Plan generally contains information on the following topics:
- Types of data that will be generated
- Data and metadata standards
- Policies for data access and sharing
- Data storage and preservation of access
There are many different Data Management Plan guidelines and templates. Exact data management requirements and conditions differ per funding agency, journal or institution. An overview of the most important guidelines from the BMS faculty is given here and an equivalent page from the UT can be found here. Moreover, a webform is available that provides the user with a template.
Guidelines personal information #
When working with personal data, various considerations with regard to data protection, privacy regulations and ethical and scientifically responsible behaviour should play a role in the data management phase. This page provides an overview of the conditions researchers should be aware of for various tasks, like levels of sensitivity and general regulations for gathering, processing and storing data. Links to the full source material and extra reading can be found here.