MANAGING YOUR DATA WELL…………………………………………....................................................................................................................................................

Bethany Morgan Brett……………………………………….

RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT SENIOR SUPPORT OFFICERUK DATA ARCHIVEUNIVERSITY OF ESSEX…………………………………………

Sociology Graduate Conference, Thorpeness

24th-25th February 2011

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

UK Data Archive

• curator of the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom

• easy access to data: search, browse and download

• disseminate and enhance data for research and teaching

• user guides and documentation

• support for researchers, data creators and data users

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

WHY IS GOOD DATA MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT?

• good research

• high quality data

• data can be understood and used now and in future

• data can be shared and re-used

• increasingly a requirement by research funders (i.e. ESRC)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

PLAN YOUR DATA MANAGEMENT

• plan data management early

• design data management according to needs and purpose of research

• implement and review data management throughout research

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

ASPECTS OF DATA MANAGEMENT

• consent• anonymisation • access• copyright• documentation • transcription • data formatting• storage• security

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

Data confidentiality and how to share such data:• consent for data sharing• anonymising data• access regulation to data

Describing and documenting data for re-use

Practicalities of looking after data• formats, version controlling, storage, back-up…

DATA MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

OUR DATA MANAGEMENT GUIDANCE

• arguments for sharing data• ethical and legal aspects of data sharing and re-use• suitable data formats and software for long-term preservation• documentation and metadata to understand and use data• adequate security and controlled access to data • data copyright• quality control of data • ensuring authenticity and version control of data • backing-up data and files • appropriate data storage

www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS

CONSENT

• will you be collecting personal, confidential or sensitive information?

• are you gaining informed consent for participation from research participants?

• are you discussing data sharing or archiving with the informants from whom you collect the data?

• are you gaining consent from informants to share data beyond your research?

• are you asking for written or verbal consent?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS

ANONYMISATION • do you need to anonymise data e.g. to remove identifying

information or personal data?

You will need to think about when this will be done and how.

COPYRIGHT

• if you are purchasing or re-using someone else’s data sources have you considered how that data will be shareable?

• have you established who owns the copyright of your data? Might there be joint copyright?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS

DOCUMENTATION

• how will you label and organize your data and files?

• are your data self-explanatory in terms of variable names, codes and abbreviations used? Would someone else be able to understand your data?

• do you have documentation which explains what your data means or gives context to your data? i.e. where an interview was carried out and with whom? Variable lists?

• have you considered how you will ensure the quality of your data? i.e. Data cleaning, checking transcriptions, data entry validation etc.

• how will you label and organise data, records and files?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS

FORMATTING AND VERSION CONTROL

• which data formats will you use? i.e. Word, MaxQDA, SPSS etc

Are these data formats likely to still be available to use in 10 years time?

• if data are held in various places, how will you keep track of versions?

• will you know what the master version of your data files is?

TRANSCRIPTION

• what conventions will you use for transcribing the data?

• who will do the transcription?

• how will you ensure the confidentiality and security of your data during the transcription process?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS

SECURITY

• if your data is held on a USB stick or other mobile storage device how will you ensure the safety and security of the data on it?

• are your files backed up regularly and are back-ups stored safely?

• how will you securely store personal or sensitive data?(Digital and hard copy data)

• do you need to keep secure all or just part of your data?

• do you have plans for how your data will be preserved once you have finished your research?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

PLANNING CHECKLIST FOR RESEARCHERS

DATA ACCESS

• who has access to which data during and after research?

• are various access regulations needed?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

PLANNING AND THE DATA LIFE CYCLE

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

OUR DATA MANAGEMENT SERVICES

UK Data Archive Research Data Management Support Services

datasharing@data-archive.ac.uk

Economic and Social Data Services

http://www.esds.ac.uk/aandp/create

RELU-Data Support service

relu.data-archive.ac.uk

JISC Data Management Planning project

http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/projects/jisc-dmp

ESRC Research Development Initiative Training Programme

http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/projects/rdi-dm

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

UK DATA ARCHIVE

CONTACT

RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICESUK DATA ARCHIVEUNIVERSIY OF ESSEXWIVENHOE PARKCOLCHESTERESSEX CO4 3SQ……………………………….……………………………………………………………………

T +44 (0)1206 872001E datasharing@data-archive.ac.ukwww.data-archive.ac.uk/sharing