Research Data Management (RDM): Welcome

Written by experts at the UK Data Archive, with over thirty years of experience in working with and teaching people to work with data, this book is the globally-reaching guide for any postgraduate student or researcher looking to build their data management skills. Focused on both primary and secondary data and packed with checklists and templates, it contains everything readers need to know for managing all types data before, during, and after the research process. Building on foundational data management techniques, it offers practical advice and insight into the unique skills needed to work with newer forms of data, like social media and big data. It also demonstrates how to: - Identify quality data that is credible, ethically-sound, and available for use - Choose and collect data suitable for particular research questions and project scopes - Work with personal, communal, administrative, and other sensitive and public data - Make the most of metadata - Visualise and share data using innovative platforms like blogs, infographics, and podcasts.   

A comprehensive guide to everything scientists need to know about data management, this book is essential for researchers who need to learn how to organize, document and take care of their own data. Researchers in all disciplines are faced with the challenge of managing the growing amounts of digital data that are the foundation of their research. Kristin Briney offers practical advice and clearly explains policies and principles, in an accessible and in-depth text that will allow researchers to understand and achieve the goal of better research data management.

Research Data Management (RDM) has become a professional topic of great importance internationally following changes in scholarship and government policies about the sharing of research data. Exploring Research Data Management provides an accessible introduction and guide to RDM with engaging tasks for the reader to follow and develop their knowledge. Starting by exploring the world of research and the importance and complexity of data in the research process, the book considers how a multi-professional support service can be created then examines the decisions that need to be made in designing different types of research data service from local policy creation, training, through to creating a data repository. Coverage includes: A discussion of the drivers and barriers to RDM Institutional policy and making the case for Research Data Services Practical data management Data literacy and training researchers Ethics and research data services Case studies and practical advice from working in a Research Data Service. This book will be useful reading for librarians and other support professionals who are interested in learning more about RDM and developing Research Data Services in their own institution. It will also be of value to students on librarianship, archives, and information management courses studying topics such as RDM, digital curation, data literacies and open science.