Monthly Archives: March 2015

Updated ESRC Research Data Policy

This month the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) has released an updated version of its Research Data Policy.The policy consists of nine core principles that align with the RCUK Common Principles on Data Sharing.

Picture1

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The updated policy provides clarification on these nine core principles and detailed guidance on roles and responsibilities for research data at a project, organisational, funder and archive level.

Read the policy on the ESRC website.

To help OU researchers to understand the ESRC policy and find university services to assist with compliance, we have also created a handy flyer. Please share this with your colleagues!

If you have any questions about how this policy affects you, please email rdm-project@open.ac.uk 

Training for research students

image by Jørgen Stamp – http://www.digitalbevaring.dk

This morning I delivered a training session to 54 full and part-time research students about Research Data Management. The students came from a wide range of academic disciplines, which made for an interesting session.

Topics covered in the session included the importance of data sharing, how to manage data during your project and why you should write a data management plan. There was a lot of lively discussion particularly around avoiding data security breaches and overcoming barriers to sharing data.

You can download the slides from the session by clicking here, or they are also available on the Research Data Management intranet site.

If you attended the session and have any follow-up questions or comments, please email rdm-project@open.ac.uk 

EPSRC requirements for research data are changing…

EPSRC flyer

Download flyer (PDF)

All Open University researchers and research students funded by EPSRC are expected to:

Store data securely:

  • EPSRC-funded research data must be securely preserved for a minimum of 10 years post-project.
  • The faculties of Science and MCT can both provide long-term storage for digital data.
  • The Research Data Management project is working to provide a solution for long-term archiving or research data for academics in other faculties. In the meantime, EPSRC-funded researchers from other faculties should find an external repository/archive into which they can deposit their data or maintain data in their own possession until these facilities become available.
  • Non-digital data which has been adequately prepared may be put into University records storage; please send any requests to rdm-project@open.ac.uk
  • For more information and advice on the long term storage of research data, visit the RDM intranet site.

Grant access to data

  • You must create a record in ORO of any significant digital or non-digital data produced, within one year of creation. The record must provide access details – either a direct link to the data, or details of who to contact to gain access. More information is available on the RDM intranet site.
  •  Only under exceptional circumstances should access to supporting data be refused and this needs to be agreed by the EPSRC when the grant is awarded.  Details of access restrictions must be included in the ORO record.
  • A delay in access to data or an embargo period is acceptable if it is necessary to protect intellectual property that would otherwise be compromised.
  • You must also include a short statement within published research papers describing how and on what terms any supporting research data may be accessed. Guidance on how to write this statement is available on the RDM intranet site

Anticipate the costs

  • Ensure any costs associated with data management are included in EPSRC grant applications.
  • Ask your faculty research administrator for advice on how to do this.

Download flyer (PDF)

How IT Services can support you with your research project

Please note: all hyperlinks in this post are internal only.

Need advice on how to access IT services for your research?

Unsure what IT services are available for OU researchers?

Want IT support, but not sure who to ask?

We have just added a new guidance document to the Research Data Management intranet site. IT Support for Research: FAQs has been produced by the Research Data Management project team and provides advice and contact details for a number of aspects of IT support for researchers, including:

  • Network storage
  • SharePoint
  • Collaborating with external research partners
  • Setting up project websites and blogs
  • IT Equipment and software

You may also be interested in the Research Data Management Information Security Guidelines, which were written in collaboration with the IT Information Security team.