Research data
Research data is information collected or generated in a research project, and that forms the basis for published results. The University Library provides support around publishing data and data management plans.
Data management plans
A data management plan (DMP) describes data management in all phases of a research project, from data collection and creation, to analysis, publication and long-term archiving. Many funders require a DMP for financed projects, in some cases already at the proposal stage.
Publishing data
Publishing data increases transparency in research and makes published results more trustworthy. It also enables others to find and reuse existing data in new research. Published data sets are assigned persistent identifiers, which makes it easier to create references to them. The creators of the data can then be credited.
If possible, choose a subject specific data repository when publishing data, but institutional and interdisciplinary repositories are good alternatives.
Published data must be well documented in order to be understandable and reusable. Use good data management right from the beginning of your project in order to create so-called FAIR-data – Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.
Some data should not be shared or published
In some cases there are legal, ethical or other reasons not to share or publish data. The data may contain confidential information, copyright protected content or personal information which must be managed according to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Registration in a repository may still be valuable for data that should not be published and can only be shared under certain conditions. This makes information about the data findable, and conditions for access can be stated.
