1. Storing and securing your research data lib.uts.edu.au utslibrary

2. Over the next 60ish mins: Storage considerations Backing up Future-proofing your data Horror stories!

3. Who are you, and why are you here?

4. Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research Section 2: Management of research data and primary materials RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESEARCHERS: 2.5 Retain research data and primary material 2.6 Manage storage of research data and primary material 2.7 Maintain confidentiality of research data and primary material https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/r39 Also UTS Directive http://www.gsu.uts.edu.au/policies/research-data-management.html#statementshttp://www.gsu.uts.edu.au/policies/research-data-management.html#statements

5. Storing your data All digital media are fallible – what’s your plan if something bad happens? File formats and physical storage media ultimately become obsolete – what’s your exit strategy? You need to work on data with someone else – Cloudstor?

6. Storing your data Good practice: storage strategy - at least three different forms of storage and locations Maintain original copy, external local copy and external remote copy have a back-up strategy copy data files to new media two to five years after first created use data formats with long-term availability

7. UTS Options UTS Staff and HDRs - http://staff.uts.edu.auhttp://staff.uts.edu.au Search for Data Storage

8. CloudStor – staff + researchers 100 GB – web interface, secure, handles large file sizes Collaborative tool (AARNET members) Versioning WebDav X Archiving

9. CloudStor – staff + researchers Logon and give it a try!

10. Beware obsolescence! https://www.pinterest.com/gmu/obsolescence/

11. Backing-up your data Would your data survive a disaster? Protect against: software failure, hardware failure, malicious attack, natural disasters What is YOUR back-up strategy?

13. Horror stories Toy Story 2 – the movie vanishes I’m sorry, we blew up your laptop University of Southhampton fire Non digital data can suffer misadventure too… No sh*t Hurricane SandyHurricane Sandy (we choose to believe the mice actually escaped and now live happily in the sewers…)

14. What’s YOUR back-up strategy? Storage at least in two, preferably three locations Check data integrity of stored data files regularly Know your faculty/centre back-up strategy Know data retention policies that apply: funder, publisher, institution What to protect? Not only data, and not only digital

15. Data formats Your choice of software format for digital data can depend on many things: planned data analyses – what do you plan to do with the data? software availability – what do you actually have access to? hardware used – does your camera/video/audio device come with proprietary software? discipline-specific standards and customs

16. Data formats Data typePreservation or Open format/s TextPDF/A (.pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), OpenDocument (.odf) Qualitative dataeXtensible Mark-up Language in an appropriate metadata schema (.xml) Rich Text Format (.rtf) Plain text (.txt) SpreadsheetsCSV (.csv) StatisticsSPSS Portable (.por) ImagesTIFF (.tif) VideoMPEG-4 (.mp4) motion JPEG2000 (.mj2) AudioFree Lossless Audio Codec (.flac) Think open, interchangeable, standard

17. Converting data Convert data for preservation or back-up Beware of conversion errors or losses Check for errors and changes after conversion

18. Digitisation Non-digital data can be digitised: paper-based materials: signed consent forms, handwritten field notes, old hardcopy materials photographs analogue audio or audio-visual recordings: reel- to-reel tape, audio cassette, micro cassette Good idea to have preservation copies and ‘working copies’

19. Sharing data files Too often email attachments Dropbox etc – consider if appropriate as services are usually hosted outside Australia. Also check terms of use – do they now own your data? Are you meeting ethical obligations? CloudStor+ are better options - http://bit.ly/1Feh770http://bit.ly/1Feh770 Virtual Research Environments eg Confluence Physical media

20. Measure Twice, Cut Once As you’re working on your research, always double check over time: – Is the data still stable and retrievable? – Is the metadata still available and understandable? – Are the formats still usable? – Is the software still available? – Is any specialized hardware still available? – Is the data still in the correct location? – Are my backups working as I expect?

21. There is a test! http://www.socrative.com/ Student login Room number: UTSLIBRARY

22. Questions? Helen Chan Helen.Chan@uts.edu.au Seraphina Goldsmith Seraphina.Goldsmith@uts.edu.au lib.uts.edu.au utslibrary This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License