LibGuides: DKU Data and Visualization Resources: Data Management

Data Managment Introduction

What is Data Management?

Note: a video and PowerPoint on this topic are available here.

Research data is not just tables of numerical information, but any data you collect in the research process, from survey responses to interview audio recordings. Any pieces of information you collect could potentially be sensitive or harmful, in or out of context, and thus when doing any kind of research you should keep in mind the principles of Research Data Management (RDM).

RDM is fundamentally about two main concepts: Organization and Protection.

Organization	Protection
Of researchers and responsibilities Of files and file structures Of research flow and study design Of data retention and disposal	Of people Of confidential information Of research findings Of secret or copyrighted data Of the institution Of companies or grant funders Of the researcher Of the integrity of the research process

To provide guidance and assistance in executing RDM principles, the Office of Research Support provides several policies and guidelines available here (after Duke/DKU Login).

Additionally, the Data and Visualization Librarian is here to answer your questions or provide guidance in carrying out RDM.

Data Management Plans

Many grant funders and research institutions will require you create a Data Management Plan to explain how your research data will be accessed, created, and managed. Even if you do not have a formal requirement to create such a plan, it is a good idea to do so for your own personal clarity and organization.

A great resource to create a DMP is DMPTool.org. A video explaining how to use DMP Tool is available here.

Open Access

What is Open Access?

Note: A PowerPoint and online video on this topic are available here.

“Open Access is the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. Open Access ensures that anyone can access and use these results—to turn ideas into industries and breakthroughs into better lives.”

https://sparcopen.org/open-access/

Open Access is a ubiquitous concept these days - everywhere, you can find Open Access journals or repositories, or encounter requirements that research be published by those kinds of journals or institutions.

For example, the UK's Digital Curation Commission tracks the popularity of Open Access requirements of grant funders in various fields:

Note that OA comes in various forms

OA Category	Description	Shorthand Summary
Closed	Not OA. Access is only available by subscription or payment and is not reproducible.	Traditional paid access
Bronze	Free to read on the publisher page, but lack a clearly identifiable license; Such articles may not be available for reuse.	Free to see, not open to use Free as in coffee, not free as in speech
Hybrid	Contain a mixture of open access articles and closed access articles. A publisher following this model is partially funded by subscriptions, and only provide open access for those individual articles for which the authors (or research sponsor) pay a publication fee.	Free samples to get you to pay for the good stuff; or loss leaders.
Gold	Publisher makes all articles and related content available for free immediately on the journal's website	Free as in coffee and free as in speech Totally free and open
Green	Self-archiving by authors is permitted under green OA. The author posts the work to a website controlled by the author, the research institution that funded or hosted the work, or to an independent central open repository.	Free for the author and their institution, not free for journal readers