Research Data Management

The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) provides the following definition:

"Research data management is the organization, documentation, storage, and preservation of the data resulting from the research process, where data can be broadly defined as the outcome of experiments or observations that validate research findings, and can take a variety of forms including numerical output (quantitative data), qualitative data, documentation, images, audio, and video."

"The research data lifecycle is a key concept in research data management. It describes the different stages that research data go through in the course of the research process and helps identify data management activities at different points in a research project." (Knowledge clip: The research data lifecycle, UGent Open Science)

1. Meet the requirement required by many funding agencies
2. Document your data throughout its lifecycle, thereby ensuring the integrity and proper description of your data
3. Increase the visibility of your research through the placement of the data in a searchable repository
4. Preserve your data for long-term access
5. Share your documented data with other researchers
6. Increase the impact of your research through data citation