LibGuides: Researcher Skills Toolkit: Plan and design

Manage data

Plan and design

Managing your research data and associated documentation is essential to ensuring the success of your research. Planning for the management of your research data at the commencement of your research can save you time and help you to avoid any disasters such as loss or corruption of the data or inability to reuse the data due to errors or lack of contextual information.

Documenting how you will manage your research data provides clarity for you and anyone working with you about roles and responsibilities for managing the data during the lifecycle of your research project, and afterwards, in case you are asked to reproduce your research, publish the data or to share the data with others.

Management of data and in research: A Guide supporting the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2019) - This guide supports the implementation of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2018)
Relevant University of Newcastle policies include:
- Responsible Conduct of Research Policy - Establishes how the University and its researchers and staff will comply with the requirements of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research including the governance and management arrangements for research at the University.
- Research Data and Primary Materials Management Procedure - Details the responsibilities of the University and University Researchers in research data and primary materials ownership, access, and management.
- Information Security Policy - This policy applies to all users of the University's ICT resources and connected systems.
- Records and Information Management Policy - Sets out the University’s commitment to the principles set out in relevant legislation and whole of government policies, and specifically the State Records Act 1998 (NSW).
The University's Research Integrity Advisors also provide advice to staff and students who have a concern about the conduct of research at the University.

Australian Research Council - Since February 2014, the ARC has required researchers to outline how they plan to manage research data arising from ARC-funded research. From 2020, this requirement forms part of the agreement for funding under the National Competitive Grants Program (Discovery and Linkage Grants)
NHMRC - Management of Data and Information in Research: A guide supporting the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research covers the responsible conduct of research includes within its scope the appropriate generation, collection, access, use, analysis, disclosure, storage, retention, disposal, sharing and re-use of data and information.

Check the Sherpa Juliet for up-to-date information concerning funders' policies and their requirements on open access, publication and data archiving.

Research with human participants

Any research conducted with or about people must have ethics approval before it can begin. The University’s Human Research Ethics Committee is responsible for ensuring that effective processes are in place to review the ethical acceptability of human research proposals and ensure approved projects are compliant with regulatory and legislative requirements. Check Human Research Ethics on the ResearchHub for advice, tools, and resources developed by the Research and Innovation Division.

Research involving animals

Researchers have a personal and legal responsibility for the welfare of animals used in research or scientific projects. Check Animal Research Ethics on the ResearchHub for advice, tools, and resources developed by the Research and Innovation Division.

A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a living document that describes how research data and associated materials will be created, managed, stored, documented, and secured throughout a research project as well as planning for what will happen to the data and materials after completion of the project. It describes who owns and has access to the data and what equipment and facilities will be used.

The DMP also describes retention and disposal, archiving, accessing, sharing, or publishing the data, and any conditions or restrictions for sharing the data.

The NHMRC recommends the development of a Data Management Plan as soon as possible in the research process. It should include, at least, the following: physical, network, system security and any other technological security measures policies and procedures contractual and licensing arrangements and confidentiality agreements training for members of the project team and others, as appropriate the form in which the data or information will be stored the purposes for which the data or information will be used and/or disclosed the conditions under which access to the data or information may be granted to others, and what information from the Data Management Plan, if any, needs to be communicated to potential participants? (NHMRC)

The University of Newcastle’s Data Management Dashboard supports data management at all points of the research data lifecycle.

The Dashboard enables researchers to create an electronic Data Management Plan, archive or publish research data, add descriptive information about the data (format, contributors/contributor IDs, security and training measures, licencing information), and request a DOI.

The Data Management Dashboard was developed to ensure compliance with legal, funder and institutional policies.

Data Management Dashboard User Guide