The vice-chancellor adopted the university’s new guidelines for research data management on 20 May. The guidelines cover all empirical research conducted at the university.

Research data management includes everything from data collection, documentation, processing, storage, dissemination, archiving and erasure.

“Research data management is governed by various regulatory frameworks, which are described in the guidelines. We are trying to make data management as simple as possible for researchers, through the aids and the in-person help that is already available from the university’s data management support,” says Henning Strandin, data steward at the library.

Why do you need a data management plan?

Under the university’s new guidelines, every research project that processes research data must produce a data management plan. This is a document that systematically describes the various aspects of data management throughout the research project. The reason for the new requirement is that all data processing must be conducted in accordance with legal requirements and good research practice. The simplest way to be certain this is done correctly and to eradicate risk is to use the data management plan as a checklist.

To make the requirement for a data management plan less burdensome, the university’s data management support service is launching two new aids:

• a new page on the employee web about research data management: Hantering av forskningsdata (in Swedish, English will come).
• a new template for data management plans that provides clearer guidance than the old one.

“The university’s template for data management plans is designed to make it as easy as possible to follow the guidelines,” says Strandin.

New storage for research data

In association with the new aids, a routine is being introduced for data storage, along with a new storage site called Dataspar. If you have research data from a previous project on a local hard drive or external storage device, you should move them to Dataspar for long-term storage.

Support and contact

The university’s data management support service is happy to help if you have any questions about research data management. You can contact them via datahantering@sh.se.