Research Data Management
Excellent RDM primers
There are some good basic training courses and resources out there that can help you begin to navigate what good research data management might look like for your project. We have included a few of them below.
Research data applies to all disciplines and can be defined as anything that has been created or gathered that helps you to answer your research question (NEH, 2018), regardless of whether it is in a physical or digital format (RCUK, 2016).
University of Plymouth Research Data Policy
The University of Plymouth has a Research Data Policy which its researchers need to comply with. The policy clarifies the roles, responsibilities and support infrastructure in the context of the research lifecycle, and outlines the actions required of researchers.
The policy outlines the following principles:
1. Data management planning is embedded in research activities throughout the lifecycle of every project.
2. Research data management practices are compliant with legal, ethical, contractual and funding requirements.
3. Data is well organised and documented from the outset to ensure its integrity, discovery and reusability.
4. Data is stored securely and protected against unauthorised modification or destruction.
5. Data of long-term value is selected for preservation.
6. Researchers recognise the value of research data to the wider community and are committed to making their data open access and usable, wherever possible and within an appropriate and defined period.
Research Data Management for Funded Research
Funders increasingly have requirements around research data.
You will need to know about the needs of your funder towards the beginning of the project so that you can plan for how to meet these requirements as you carry out your project.
There may also be ethical concerns around your data, which you will need to be aware of and prepare for.
You can find out more about these requirements in our guidance below.
University of Plymouth Support for RDM
Research Data Management support is provided by several university departments, depending on the nature of the query:
Funding & costing for RDM within grant bids; legal & ethical considerations; patents & Intellectual Property; Data Sharing Agreements
Technical solutions for data management e.g. costing for bespoke storage; device encryption; data destruction and information security. Raise a self-service request to access any of these services.
Your Information Specialists can advise on issues relating to Open Data; data sharing; repositories and publications. Click on the link above to find out who your Information Specialist is, or contact via the generic email: informationspecialists@plymouth.ac.uk