Research Data Management: an Introduction Jane Fry July 27, 2017 I am here to make your academic journey easier – and who doesn’t want that! The info I am giving you today could be something you will use now or in the future but for those of you doing research, you will use it at some point in time

What is research data management? Outline Why the Library? What is research data management? Its benefits Its key components Research data management plans Metadata

Research data management Acronyms Research data management RDM data management DM Research data management plan RDMP data management plan DMP First – I want you to put your heads together at your table and come up with a short defn of RDM – 1 min – make sure you have a recorder

Preamble Why the Library? Research partner Support the research endeavor RDM expert Partner with CU Research Office The scholarly life-cycle Discipline-agnostic Why am I talking to you today? What does the library have to do with research? Quite a lot actually! RP -always been for researchers - provide materials and space to support research whether virtual or physical Library staff frequently help res-ers to navigate spaces and materials – often at the information-seeking stage Life-cycle We also help with copyright, scholarly publishing, preservation, open access

Why the Library (cont’d) Our role Information Consultation Challenge Determine how we can help researchers advance their research Info --developing user guides – on RDM and RDMP --webpages --References for more info ----funding agency requirements Consultation --promoting best practices in RDM --Managing metadata --data citation --Data sharing and access

RDM What is it? Includes Your definition? Sound practices Data curation Data stewardship Check with everyone’s defn – who wants to volunteer? Def’n – simplistic one – managing research data throughout the research life cycle --sounds simple but that is what it is – it is not rocket science ---The application of sound practices in the creation of data for current and future research ---Data curation – the preservation and maintenance of digital assets ---Data stewardship for the lifecycle of a research project

RDM (cont’d) Benefits of RDM Why is it important now? Confirmation of original findings Essential if defending your research Further research Teaching Planning follow-up studies Why is it important now? Benefits - Confirmation of original findings Replication of results Prevention of research fraud - Further research Answering questions not undertaken in the original study Teaching - Often used in teaching statistical methods Planning follow-up studies Building on the original data by introducing a time factor Important now --CFI, Genome Cda and the Tri-Council (SSHRC, CIHR and NSERC) are working on a policy requiring an RDMP before receiving funding --many int’l funders already require it --USA, UK and parts of Europe already require res-ers to have an RDMP before receiving funding --so it will be coming here! For you, establishing good practices now will pay off in the future

Any questions about RDM? http://taitegallery.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/unanswered-questions.jpg

Research data lifecycle 6 different stages I did a project recently investigating how many different research life cycles are out there and I stopped at 50 --there were slight variations between them --most of the variations are related to the discipline for which the life cycle is related Reference: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/life-cycle

Research data lifecycle (cont’d) Reference: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/life-cycle

Research data lifecycle (cont’d) Reference: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/life-cycle

Research data lifecycle (cont’d) Reference: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/life-cycle

Research data lifecycle (cont’d) Reference: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/life-cycle

Research data lifecycle (cont’d) Reference: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/life-cycle

Research data lifecycle (cont’d) Reference: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/life-cycle

Any questions about the research lifecycle http://www.quotationof.com/images/question-quotes-7.jpg

What’s next? Need an RDMP Why an RDMP If no RDMP? Safety Efficiency Quality If no RDMP? Potential problems Once you have your research questions, what’s next? RDMP – can be as short as a 2 page document ---gives answers to the different elements or questions that are part of the RDMP -Safety --protect your data - Efficiency --easier to write up analyses and reports - Quality --ensures high quality when guidelines laid out at beginning Problems -each type of data has its own peculiarities – will you remember them after 1 wk, 1 mnth, 1 yr? Loss of info inability to share Inability to replicate Not as much analysis can be conducted Eg. Attitudes of Young Cdns --no methodology, no questionnaire, missing variable and value labels --use it for teaching purposes only – not for research

Funder and data description Data collection Documentation and metadata Elements of an RDMP Funder and data description Data collection Documentation and metadata Storage and backup Preservation Data sharing and re-use Responsibilities and resources Ethics and legal compliance I like to list these to show you that it is not rocket science putting together an RDMP You will also already have most of the info --you are just being forced to put all this info together into one document – how can that not be a good thing! There are a few different RDMP builders on the internet More detail will be given at a workshop I will be giving in a few weeks – then you will get to put together a DMP on your own based on a research project on which you have worked or are working There is also a word template on our website that some researchers find even easier to use - *Hand it out at the end If you find another one out there and are unsure as to its reliability and/or validity, contact me and I will help you out Similarly, I tell res-ers that if they need help filling out an RDMP, contact me and I will review it before they submit it

Metadata What is it Why is it important Who enters it When to record it What to keep End goal Thinking caps again! – get together with your table mates and come up with a brief defn for metadata – 1 min Metadata ---Information about the data which makes finding and working with the dataset possible Why – for the re-use of your research data -it explains your dataset -who--ideally, the original researcher --this is the best one to explain the data, how it was collected, why the research was conducted, any issues or challenges that occurred, any problems with entering data or coding, … Think about if you have a research team – you have to make sure that they record all their decisions. --what happens if they are not around when you are writing your research paper? How will you know why they did what they did or didn’t do? End goal - For this data to be replicated if necessary

It is not written in stone! Easy! Some tips Mark it down! It is not written in stone! Easy! Why - Much of the info in the previous slides seems like common sense – why should I follow it? You will be tempted not to follow it --no time, no facilities to record it, will do it later, it’s only a minor change, therefore not important enough to mark it down --of course, I will remember it! --Remember the Benefits of RDM Confirmation of original findings, Essential if defending your research, Further research, Planning follow-up studies Stone Change it as needed – but if you make changes, … Easy! - Most of you are already practicing RDM in one form or another – it may only be that you need to formalize your process

Help Help with RDM Help with RDMPs https://library.carleton.ca/services/research-data-management Consultations Help with RDMPs Portage, https://assistant.portagenetwork.ca/ Word template, https://library.carleton.ca/services/research-data-management#how Help Our webpage Consultations – in person, phone, by email Portage – a DMP builder Easy to follow Step-by-step Bilingual Provides guidance and examples

In sum …. Hopefully, you now know Why the Library is here to help you What RDM and RDMPs are Their benefits Their key components What is Metadata

http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-01-06 Any questions? Give handouts Put stickies on handouts for their suggestions

Contact Information Jane Fry Data Services Librarian Rm 122 MacOdrum Library 613.520.2600 x1121 jane.fry@Carleton.ca https://library.carleton.ca/services/research-data-management