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Getting Help with Research Data Management

Research Data Management can seem daunting, but there are a variety of roles or institutional services that may be able to offer you guidance and assistance along the way.

Other researchers​

Finding out how other researchers manage their data, especially those in a related field, can help you to understand standards appropriate to your research and develop consistent strategies for managing your data. For example, there may be common software or storage solutions used within your research group, and there may be conventions for naming files and directories. Other researchers may be willing to show you how they organise their work and to share their data management plans.

Supervisors and managers​

Supervisors and managers can provide you with guidance on local policies and conventions that can help organise your data. They should also support you in your planning by discussing the requirements for your data management plan and ensuring that you update it when changes occur in your project. They should also be able to help identify you identify support staff in your organisation to help, or appropriate training to help you develop new skills.

Librarians and university research services​

Librarians and university research services can provide practical guidance throughout the data lifecycle. They also often produce training materials that can help with developing skills in research data management. Depending on the institution there may be specialised disciplinary help through a subject-specific library or librarian. Many university libraries provide online guidance available to all, so even if you do not have direct access to a librarian you can pick up useful tips from these sources.

Data stewards​

Your organisation may have data stewards who can help with research data management, and also related topics such as ensuring data quality, data governance and issues such as security of the data. A data steward often works with a research group to improve the data management practices for a specific project and to provide education and advocate for best practices. They will often have a good knowledge of the data formats and technologies for their disciplinary area. Even if you group or project does not have a data steward formally assigned, you may be able to connect to ask advice from one through your institutions research services, through collaborators, or through professional communities.

Facilities staff and repository managers​

Facilities staff and repository managers can be a good source of information about research data management, in particular for providing guidance on appropriate file formats, how to structure data, how to create metadata for your data, and also where to share your data for particular data types or disciplines.

Scholarly societies and publishers​

Scholarly societies are a good source of guidance on best practices in data management, data formats and standards, and best practices for sharing in that discipline. These organisations are often journal publishers and can also provide guidance of what, how, and where to share your data especially when you come to publish your research.

Examples of guidance from scholarly societies and publishers include:

Reproducibility networks and open science groups​

A variety of organisations have been set up to work with the research community and to provide guidance on sharing your data. Some of these are national and international level organisations, whilst others are more local groups that can meet in person. Many of them hold events and provide training. Examples of these organisations are:

Research councils and funding bodies​

Research councils and funding bodies often set the requirements for researchers on whether they must produce a data management plan and also how and where to deposit research data. These requirements are often provided with additional guidance on best practices, and staff may be able to provide assistance on making decisions about how to manage research data, how to store it, where and how it must be shared. For example:

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