1. 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

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Any questions about RDM?

9. 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:

10. Research data lifecycle (cont’d)
Reference:

11. Research data lifecycle (cont’d)
Reference:

12. Research data lifecycle (cont’d)
Reference:

13. Research data lifecycle (cont’d)
Reference:

14. Research data lifecycle (cont’d)
Reference:

15. Research data lifecycle (cont’d)
Reference:

16. Any questions about the research lifecycle

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. Help Help with RDM Help with RDMPs
Consultations
Help with RDMPs
Portage,
Word template,
Help
Our webpage
Consultations – in person, phone, by
Portage – a DMP builder
Easy to follow
Step-by-step
Bilingual
Provides guidance and examples

22. 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

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

24. Contact Information
Jane Fry
Data Services Librarian
Rm 122
MacOdrum Library
x1121