The quantity of research data continues to grow. Because of this increasing volume of data, it is important to know how long researchers and institutions want it to be preserved. Just as important is knowing what data is worth preserving. To help researchers decide, general guidelines have been drawn up for selecting the relevant information. The guidelines are based on three studies – from the perspective of three separate scientific/scholarly disciplines – that were commissioned by SURFfoundation and that looked at how researchers deal with research data and how they store and share it.
Study on dealing with research data Researchers have various different ways of dealing with research data, sharing it, and storing it for the long term. The differences are not just between separate disciplines but also within individual departments. The three studies were carried out from the perspectives of different disciplines. Despite the differences, they were able to formulate a number of general principles. The studies were carried out by DANS together with 3TU Data Centre, Leiden University, and the International Institute of Social History (IISG) (an institute forming part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, KNAW):
Study on dealing with research data Researchers have various different ways of dealing with research data, sharing it, and storing it for the long term. The differences are not just between separate disciplines but also within individual departments. The three studies were carried out from the perspectives of different disciplines. Despite the differences, they were able to formulate a number of general principles. The studies were carried out by DANS together with 3TU Data Centre, Leiden University, and the International Institute of Social History (IISG) (an institute forming part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, KNAW):
- Data Curation in Arts and Media Research (Leiden University) – This study surveys the current situation regarding the management and reuse of research data in art history, comparative arts research, and media studies.
- IISH Guidelines for preserving research data: a framework for preserving collaborative data collections for future research (IISG) – This study followed researchers as they worked through the dynamics of data collection in online collaboration environments.
- Selection of Research Data; Guidelines for appraising and selecting research data (DANS and 3TU) – This study shows the latest situation in the area of selecting research data, based on a survey of the literature, interviews with important figures, and the experience gained by DANS and the 3TU Data Centre. General guidelines have been drawn up for assessing and selecting research data.
Guidelines for selecting research data to be preservedResearch data often needs to be preserved for use/reuse, or so that the research results can be validated. This does not apply to all data, however. General guidelines have been drawn up, in the form of a checklist, for determining what research data is valuable as source material for research. The checklist 'General Guidelines for Selecting Research Data to be Preserved' gives the main reasons for storing research data for the long term. The checklist can be used by individual researchers, research groups, institutions and funding bodies, but also by managers of archives, research repositories, and heritage institutions.
Deciding what data to preserve Views differ as to the preservation of research data, ranging from 'specify what you will and will not keep' to 'keep everything, because you never know what you might someday want to do with it'. It is because old ships’ logs have been preserved, for example, that climate researchers can now determine where the ice boundary was a hundred years ago.
All three studies conclude that it is extremely important to already consider at an early stage of a research project how the data generated will be preserved. Researchers need to decide early on what data they will preserve and why. That applies even if they do not know at the start of the project what they can do or want to do with the data. The checklist can help them decide.
The studies, together with the general guidelines, are available in the section Publications.
About SURFfoundation SURFfoundation enables breakthrough education and research. We initiate, guide and stimulate ICT innovation through sharing knowledge and partnerships. SURFfoundation is a partner in SURF, the collaborative organisation in which research universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutions aimed at innovative ICT facilities operate at a national and an international level.
About the SURFshare programmeThe aim of SURFshare is to provide better access to high-quality scientific and scholarly knowledge using the very latest ICT technology. That is possible, because ICT not only speeds up standard communication processes, but also changes the nature of the research cycle itself. The growing number of options for knowledge-sharing and dissemination mean that traditional publications, tools (for example models, algorithms and visualisations) and research data are increasingly interwoven.
SURFfoundation’s intention in the SURFshare programme is to create a common infrastructure that will facilitate access to research information and make it possible for researchers to share scientific and scholarly information.
Deciding what data to preserve Views differ as to the preservation of research data, ranging from 'specify what you will and will not keep' to 'keep everything, because you never know what you might someday want to do with it'. It is because old ships’ logs have been preserved, for example, that climate researchers can now determine where the ice boundary was a hundred years ago.
All three studies conclude that it is extremely important to already consider at an early stage of a research project how the data generated will be preserved. Researchers need to decide early on what data they will preserve and why. That applies even if they do not know at the start of the project what they can do or want to do with the data. The checklist can help them decide.
The studies, together with the general guidelines, are available in the section Publications.
About SURFfoundation SURFfoundation enables breakthrough education and research. We initiate, guide and stimulate ICT innovation through sharing knowledge and partnerships. SURFfoundation is a partner in SURF, the collaborative organisation in which research universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutions aimed at innovative ICT facilities operate at a national and an international level.
About the SURFshare programmeThe aim of SURFshare is to provide better access to high-quality scientific and scholarly knowledge using the very latest ICT technology. That is possible, because ICT not only speeds up standard communication processes, but also changes the nature of the research cycle itself. The growing number of options for knowledge-sharing and dissemination mean that traditional publications, tools (for example models, algorithms and visualisations) and research data are increasingly interwoven.
SURFfoundation’s intention in the SURFshare programme is to create a common infrastructure that will facilitate access to research information and make it possible for researchers to share scientific and scholarly information.
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