Guidance in the PSDI Knowledge Base

In the PSDI Knowledge Base you can find guidance on topics related to data and also documentation for some of the services and tools we provide. Use the left-hand navigation to explore our guidance or follow the links in the sections below.

Research Data Management

This collection of topics provides an introduction to research data management and data management planning, including best practices and where you can get assistance in working with your data.

• What is Research Data Management?
• What are Research Data?
• The Research Data Lifecycle
• Introduction to Data Management Planning
  • Using Data Management Plans
    • Data Management Plans for Physical Sciences
    • Completed Data Management Plan Example for Physical Sciences
    • Contributor Record for Research in the Physical Sciences
  • Collaborative Research
  • Getting Help with Research Data Management

Sharing Data and FAIR

This collection of topics provides guidance on good practices for sharing your research data. This section introduces the FAIR principles and their importance, and provides step by step guidance on what is needed to make your research data and related outputs such as code and methods FAIR, whether or not you share them publicly.

• Sharing Your Research Data
• What are FAIR Research Data?
  • The FAIR Principles
• Steps to Making Your Research Data FAIR
• Licences for Sharing Your Research Data
• Creating a Data Package to Share Your Research Data
  • Creating a README File for Your Shared Data
• Choosing a Repository for Your Research Data

Digital Notebooks and Electronic Laboratory Notebooks

This collection of topics provides guidance about digital notebooks and ELNs, how they can help your research, how to overcome the barriers to moving from paper to digital, and how to choose an ELN for your needs.

• Types of Digital Notebooks
• Benefits of Digital Notebooks
• Adopting Digital Notebooks and Electronic Laboratory Notebooks
• Choosing an Electronic Laboratory Notebook
  • Determining Requirements for an Electronic Laboratory Notebook
  • Choosing a Provider for Your Digital Notebook or Electronic Laboratory Notebook
• Deploying an Electronic Laboratory Notebook
• Choosing an Electronic Laboratory Notebook
• Examples of Electronic Laboratory Notebooks
  • Using Microsoft OneNote as an ELN
  • AI4Green

Metadata

This collection of topics gives an introduction to metadata for physical scientists and provides information about how metadata is used within PSDI.

• Introduction to Metadata in the Physical Sciences
  • Types of Metadata
  • Schemas, Vocabularies, and Ontologies
• PSDI Metadata

PSDI Resources

This section of the Knowledge Base provides information and documentation about some of the resources provided by PSDI.

• Introduction to PSDI Resources
• Using PSDI Cross Data Search
  • Searching for a Substance
  • Searching for Publication References
  • Searching Chemical Availability (ChASe)
  • Creating a Search Query for an Advanced Search
  • Saving Your Favourites for Later
  • Setting User Preferences in PSDI Cross Data Search
• PSDI Data Sources
  • Licensed Data Sources:
    • Cambridge Structural Database (CSD)
    • DETHERM
    • Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD)
  • Chemical Availability Search (ChASe)
  • Propersea - Property Prediction
• PSDI Community Data Collections
• PSDI Data Conversion Service
• PSDI Organic Toolkit

Case Studies

• Introduction to PSDI Case Studies
  • Resurrecting Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) Data Case Study
  • Electronic Supplementary Information Case Study

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About this page

• Creator: Cerys Willoughby
• Last modified date: 2026-01-22
• License: CC-BY-4.0
• Citation: Please cite: Cerys Willoughby, Guidance in the PSDI Knowledge Base, https://guidance.psdi.ac.uk/docusaurus-pages/docs/guidance/, PSDI (modified 2026-01-22)

If you would like to contribute content to the PSDI Knowledge Base or have feedback you would like to give on this guidance, please contact us.