Working with Research Data 17th October 2019

Editor's Notes

• #2: Welcome​ Introduce myself​ Housekeeping – we will be recording. Names will be removed from the recording.​ Ask questions in the Chat box or on mic​ ​ !!! REMEMBER TO ACTUALLY RECORD IT !!!
• #3: Before I start I’m going to flag up our website where you can find loads of information about Data Management Plans and everything else we support, and how to contact us.​
• #4: (? minutes) Overview of the webinar There is quite a lot of content to get through, we will stop for discussion at various points throughout and there will be time for questions at the end but if you have a burning question please feel free to interrupt me!
• #6: Read the quotation. This quotation from the Digital Curation Centre sums up what Research Data Management is all about. It covers the management of data throughout your research lifecycle (more on that later) and beyond, when you will be sharing your data with other researchers. This is relevant to all research which produces data, although you may find that the methods you use differ depending on your type of research or academic discipline. But if you remember nothing else, remember…it should help you to do your research A quick word on the Digital Curation Centre (DCC). They are the leading experts in the UK on Research Data Management, and gave us a lot of help when we set up the RDM project. Their website is a great source of information and guidance.
• #7: There are lots of research data lifecycle models, but this is the one I favour. Think about what actions are required on your data at each of these points – For example at the creating data stage you will need to think about a data management plan, gaining consent to share data, finding pre-existing research data as well as the collection/creation of data and metadata. Processing data will often involve data entry, transcription, anonymization, and quality control as well as thinking about how you will be storing the data. The analysis phase is what many people think of as “proper research”- by managing your data well up to this point, analysis will be much easier The preservation phase involves assigning metadata and migrating formats for archive – much of this work can be avoided by getting ahead and doing it earlier on in the project. By putting your data in a trusted repository or archive you will be providing access. You also need to think about assigning licences. We’ll be talking about data sharing in webinars on 20th November and 12th December Re-using data - might be by you or by someone else. Might be for further research, validation of results, could be for teaching or journalism purposes.
• #8: 3 mins Good data management does require an investment of effort – but ultimately it’s something that can actually save you time, by helping you work more efficiently. Many of us are all too well acquainted with the frustration of trying to track down a fact or a document we know we have somewhere. Good research data management – setting up an organizational system that works for you, and ensuring everything is properly filed or labelled to enable re-identification and retrieval – can make life a lot easier. And it’s not just a matter of saving time and reducing unnecessary effort (though clearly that’s a major benefit): having everything well ordered can also help you get a better feel of the shape and scope of your research material, which in turn can enable you to spot patterns or connections that might otherwise get missed. It’s also well worth doing, because the data you’re producing or working with is valuable As well as this being true for your own research, the data might ultimately be of use to other researchers. Having everything well organized and properly labelled also has the potential to save you a lot of time at the end of a research project, when it comes to deciding what to do with your data – but more of that later. Finally, there may be requirements imposed by your funding body and/or the university
• #9: 2 mins The OU’s RDM policy was approved by Research Committee in November 2016. Make your data open wherever possible (including physical data) – no later than the first date of online publication of research. Published research papers must include statements on how and on what terms supporting data may be accessed, or if there is no data the paper should make that clear. Manage it responsibly throughout your project The university will provide services and facilities, training support and guidance Note: All those engaged in research at the OU, including those involved in collaborating with other institutions, must take personal responsibility for managing their research data in accordance with University and funder requirements We talk here and later briefly about data sharing, which is something to be aware of now, but is covered in a separate session we deliver
• #10: 1 min 28th July 2016. The Concordat on Open Research Data has been developed by a UK multi-stakeholder group. Individual funders (including all the separate UK Research Councils) have their own policies. On the next slide we’ll see an overview.
• #11: It is the researcher’s responsibility to manage their data and comply with institutional and funder policies, but it is the University’s responsibility to support you to be able to do so. We have research support librarians and a website with detailed guidance and resources…
• #12: … and a repository to allow you to preserve and share your data.
• #13: So having got to grips with what RDM is, we’ll now look at how to work with and manage your data. Start as you mean to go on Consider all the preparation necessary for making your data shareable and how you can reduce the workload at the end of the project by doing the work during the project You may have heard of Data Management Plans, which is a document where you can write. We had a webinar last week that was recorded. You can find it on the page for this online room, in the top right corner.
• #14: The preferred option is networked file storage, as this is secure and provides guaranteed backup. SharePoint will help you to manage your data effectively, it offers sophisticated version control and allows you to create folders assign tags to different types of documents. Best for internal teams only as external collaborators will need to get visitor access. OneDrive is secure and can be accessed by anyone with a Microsoft account (inside or outside OU). All data is stored within the EU. ORDO is our data repository, it’s easy to use during projects but doesn’t offer online editing or version control so not ideal for team working. If you opt for a cloud service, make sure you’re aware of the terms and conditions - where will the data be kept? What is the backup policy? What happens if the system fails? – When using cloud based services not supported or licenced for OU corporate use (such as Dropbox, Google Drive), accountability rests with the individual choosing to use this method of storage. It is also against OU information security policy to store OU information on unsupported/unlicensed cloud based storage. Check with IT Helpdesk first. More information on these options is available on the comparison guide linked to here. If you need help deciding what’s best for your project please get in touch.
• #15: Information security enables you to control who has access to your research data and to determine, and keep track of, what others are authorised to do with your data. If you lose your data recovery could be slow, costly or even worse, it could be impossible. Furthermore, academic research often results in the creation of sensitive data which, if released, could be damaging to your reputation or that of your institution. Adopting appropriate security measures will help protect your data from: Breaches of confidentiality, which could result in reputational damage, claims because of loss of intellectual property and damage to research subjects Failures of integrity (i.e. the accuracy and consistency of data), which can undermine research credibility Interruptions to the availability of data, which can impact on the research process Loss through accidental or malicious damage, modification or theft
• #16: Do you have sensitive data? Why is it sensitive? Assign appropriate controls. If you’re working in a team – think about who needs to access which files. Does everyone need access to everything? We have already looked at storage – think about what data you are working with and the level of security it requires Transferring data outside of the OU – we’ll look at the options on the next slide. If you’re using portable storage devices (USBs etc) to store sensitive data, make sure it’s encrypted as there is a risk that you may lose it. Likewise, lock away any paperwork which could cause reputational damage if it got into the wrong hands, as well as storage devices. If you’re working away from the office, think about who can access your computer – if you’re on the train be aware of people looking over your shoulders! Use cloud storage services responsibly – be aware of where the data is stored.
• #17: One Drive allows you to share materials rather like Dropbox, but is more secure, and stores are within EU locations, so is complies with EU Data Protection laws concerning the storage of personal data. We also now have ORDO, which you can use to store live research data. You may create a project workspace and then invite external collaborators to share this workspace; you can allow view only permissions, or data upload permissions. The file management in ORDO is a little clunky; you have to download, work on files, and then re-upload, so depending on the extent of your collaboration and other options, you may want to use another of the services provided centrally. If you have any specific queries about which service might be right for your live research data, please get in touch.
• #18: 1 min Think about names and formats before clicking save Where do you need this file; is it used by another program? Do the name and location make sense? Consideration at the beginning makes it easier to find files and related documents later.
• #19: 1 min Vocabulary – choose a standard vocabulary for file names, so that everyone uses a common language. Punctuation – decide on conventions for if and when to use punctuation symbols, capitals, hyphens and spaces. Dates – agree on a logical use of dates so that they display chronologically i.e. YYYY-MM-DD. Order - confirm which element should go first, so that files on the same theme are listed together and can therefore be found easily. Numbers – specify the amount of digits that will be used in numbering so that files are listed numerically e.g. 01, 002, etc.
• #20: This is one example of a naming convention, that we use in the library research support team. It has the right level of detail for the work we are doing and the amount of files we produce. It tells us what type of document it is, what it relates to generally and specifically, and when it was created. The order of the parts of the filename could be changed so that for example the date was first, so all files would sort first chronologically in a folder or list, rather than by document type first. This suits our team.
• #21: 1 min Think about names and formats before clicking save Where do you need this file; is it used by another program? Do the name and location make sense? Consideration at the beginning makes it easier to find files and related documents later.
• #23: Most people do it to a certain extent without thinking You might organize your collection by artist, title, even colour! This is made much easier in a digital environment What information is needed for the data to be to be read and interpreted in the future? Describe the types of documentation that will accompany the data to help secondary users to understand and reuse it. This should at least include basic details that will help people to find the data, including who created or contributed to the data, its title, date of creation and under what conditions it can be accessed. Documentation may also include details on the methodology used, analytical and procedural information, definitions of variables, vocabularies, units of measurement, any assumptions made, and the format and file type of the data Supporting documentation Working papers or laboratory books Questionnaires or interview guides Final project reports and publications Catalogue metadata  READ ME file Embedded documentation is integral to the file Supporting documentation is in addition to the file. We encourage you to upload a readme file alongside any data you deposit in ORDO. Make sure it’s structured in a way that makes it easy to understand. Anything that will help others understand your data is useful.
• #25: 2 mins In the past researchers gained consent from participants primarily so that they could collect data.   However, many funders are now increasingly requesting researchers to share and preserve their data as part of their requirements.  It is therefore important that participants fully understand:  how you will store, publish and share their data  how you will ensure that their data remains confidential and anonymous (where applicable) throughout the duration of the project and after  Failure to obtain consent could result in non-compliance with your funder's requirements and limit the opportunities you have to share, publish and preserve your data.  If things change, you may be able to go back to your participants and change the details of the agreement. Anonymisation can be time-consuming, so agreeing what can and can’t be recorded or transcribed may well save you time and effort. For example, if they don’t want you to use names, then conduct the interview without using names. It is your duty to protect participants and comply with data protection
• #26: 2 mins As mentioned before, if possible in the collection process, not using personally identifying information can save time and effort as you will have less to anonymise. Make sure you are storing your sensitive data sensibly. If possible, de-identify your data upon collection, this will reduce the damage is a security breach happens. Make sure you are encrypting your data if you have to send it electronically (eg by email) Do you need to keep the original recording? If it’s been transcribed, what value does it hold? By destroying it as early as possible you are reducing the risk.
• #27: Send DMPs in advance of bid submission! Preferably a week ahead, if possible. But later is better than never! I am happy to meet with Pis and project teams at the beginning of projects to discuss strategies for managing data and clarify funder requirements. Also able to set up bespoke training sessions for departments/research groups At the end of your project, hopefully your data will have been managed in a way that facilitates sharing, but if in doubt get in touch for help Guidance is on the intranet site, and will soon be on the public facing library research support website. URL on next slide. Send enquiries to email at bottom of screen, this way anyone from the team can pick it up if I’m away.