About Research Data Management

Lewis Library provides consultation services to help you navigate available resources throughout the data lifecycle. Contact us or your Library Liaison to schedule an appointment.

Why is Data Management Important?

Effectively managing data from the beginning of your project has worthwhile benefits. Many funding agencies have data requirements and there is federal policy regarding open data. Knowing how to manage and share your data throughout its life-cycle will save time as well as safeguard against catastrophic loss in the future.

Clearly documented data provides evidence for your research in conjunction with your published results. Describing data can help you find or interpret older research data. Sharing data also helps further new discoveries and research, increasing the impact of your work through additional data citation.

Your Research Process

Before Your Research Begins

• Explore funding agency requirements for data and write your Data Management Plan (DMP) using the DMPTool
• Consider Institutional Review Board (IRB) policies when contemplating sharing data on human subjects
• Explore online tools to learn about the data life cycle and how to manage data

During Your Research Process

• Consider and create the metadata you will need to provide along with your data so others can understand and reuse
• Learn about the basics of copyright and the Creative Commons copyright license
• Select applications to store and back up your active data that offer flexibility, functionality, and access

After Your Research Ends

• Share and publish your data with the appropriate data archive or repository
• Learn how to cite datasets and ensure your data are cited correctly