MANAGING YOUR DATA WELL ………………………………………… Bethany Morgan Brett ………………………………………. RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT SENIOR SUPPORT OFFICER UK DATA ARCHIVE UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX ………………………………………… Sociology Graduate Conference, Thorpeness 24 th -25 th February 2011

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO UK Data Archive curator of the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom easy access to data: search, browse and download disseminate and enhance data for research and teaching user guides and documentation support for researchers, data creators and data users

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE WHY IS GOOD DATA MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT? good research high quality data data can be understood and used now and in future data can be shared and re-used increasingly a requirement by research funders (i.e. ESRC)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE PLAN YOUR DATA MANAGEMENT plan data management early design data management according to needs and purpose of research implement and review data management throughout research

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE ASPECTS OF DATA MANAGEMENT consent anonymisation access copyright documentation transcription data formatting storage security

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE Data confidentiality and how to share such data: consent for data sharing anonymising data access regulation to data Describing and documenting data for re-use Practicalities of looking after data formats, version controlling, storage, back-up… DATA MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE OUR DATA MANAGEMENT GUIDANCE arguments for sharing data ethical and legal aspects of data sharing and re-use suitable data formats and software for long-term preservation documentation and metadata to understand and use data adequate security and controlled access to data data copyright quality control of data ensuring authenticity and version control of data backing-up data and files appropriate data storage

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS CONSENT will you be collecting personal, confidential or sensitive information? are you gaining informed consent for participation from research participants? are you discussing data sharing or archiving with the informants from whom you collect the data? are you gaining consent from informants to share data beyond your research? are you asking for written or verbal consent?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS ANONYMISATION do you need to anonymise data e.g. to remove identifying information or personal data? You will need to think about when this will be done and how. COPYRIGHT if you are purchasing or re-using someone elses data sources have you considered how that data will be shareable? have you established who owns the copyright of your data? Might there be joint copyright?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS DOCUMENTATION how will you label and organize your data and files? are your data self-explanatory in terms of variable names, codes and abbreviations used? Would someone else be able to understand your data? do you have documentation which explains what your data means or gives context to your data? i.e. where an interview was carried out and with whom? Variable lists? have you considered how you will ensure the quality of your data? i.e. Data cleaning, checking transcriptions, data entry validation etc. how will you label and organise data, records and files?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS FORMATTING AND VERSION CONTROL which data formats will you use? i.e. Word, MaxQDA, SPSS etc Are these data formats likely to still be available to use in 10 years time? if data are held in various places, how will you keep track of versions? will you know what the master version of your data files is? TRANSCRIPTION what conventions will you use for transcribing the data? who will do the transcription? how will you ensure the confidentiality and security of your data during the transcription process?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS SECURITY if your data is held on a USB stick or other mobile storage device how will you ensure the safety and security of the data on it? are your files backed up regularly and are back-ups stored safely? how will you securely store personal or sensitive data?(Digital and hard copy data) do you need to keep secure all or just part of your data? do you have plans for how your data will be preserved once you have finished your research?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS DATA ACCESS who has access to which data during and after research? are various access regulations needed?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE PLANNING AND THE DATA LIFE CYCLE

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE OUR DATA MANAGEMENT SERVICES UK Data Archive Research Data Management Support Services Economic and Social Data Services RELU-Data Support service relu.data-archive.ac.uk JISC Data Management Planning project ESRC Research Development Initiative Training Programme

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. UK DATA ARCHIVE CONTACT RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES UK DATA ARCHIVE UNIVERSIY OF ESSEX WIVENHOE PARK COLCHESTER ESSEX CO4 3SQ ……………………………….…………………………………………………………………… T +44 (0) E