Research Data Management: RDM Explained

Research data is any information that has been collected, observed, generated or created to validate original research findings.  Although often digital, research data can come in a variety of formats.  For example:

• Video and audio files
• Lab notebooks
• Images
• Physical artefacts
• Documents, spreadsheets and databases
• Interview transcripts
• Textual source material

There are many reasons why research data management is important:

• Data, like journal articles and books, is a scholarly product.
• Data (especially digital data) is fragile and easily lost.
• There are growing research data requirements imposed by funders and publishers.
• Research data management saves time and resources in the long run.
• To comply with legislative requirements such as Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts.
• Good management helps to prevent errors and increases the quality of your analyses.
• Well-managed and accessible data allows others to validate and replicate findings.
• RDM is a way to ensure research integrity and avoid reputational risk for researcher and institution.
• Research data management facilitates sharing of research data and, when shared, data can lead to valuable discoveries by others outside of the original research team.

Policy on Managing Research Data at DMU

"De Montfort University is committed to research excellence and integrity and seeks to promote high standards of research data management throughout the research data lifecycle." 

DMU offers the following as part of the Researcher Development Programme:

• Introduction to Research Data Management (for staff and PhD students)
• Winning Funding with Data Management Planning (for staff only)

You can sign up for these via Resjourney

In addition, we recommend this web-based Research Data Management Course: