Building a research data management service for the London school of hygiene &amp; tropical medicine

Gareth Knight,Dr Andrew Cox

doi:10.1108/prog-01-2015-0011

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of work performed at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to set-up a Research Data Management Service and tailor it to the needs of health researchers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the motivations for establishing the RDM Service and outlines the three objectives that were set to improve data management practice within the institution. Each of the objectives are explored in turn, stating how they were addressed. Findings – A university with limited resources can operate a RDM Service that pro-actively supports researchers wishing to manage research data by monitoring evolving support needs, identifying common trends and developing resources that will reduce the time investment needed. The institution-wide survey identified a need for guidance on developing data documentation and archiving research data following project completion. Analysis of ongoing support requests identifies a need for guidance on data management plans and complying with journal sharing requirements. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides a case study of a single institution. The results may not be generally applicable to universities that support other disciplines. Practical implications – The case study may be helpful in helping other universities to establish an RDM Service using limited resources. Originality/value – The paper outlines how the evolving data management needs of public health researchers can be identified and a strategy that can be adopted by an RDM Service to efficiently address these requirements.

Highlights

1.1 Introduction The Research Data Management Service is an increasingly familiar unit within a university, providing a range of services to support researchers who are creating, managing and sharing their research data
This paper presents a case study of work performed at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to establish a Research Data Management service
This paper has described work performed at the LSHTM to establish a small-scale Research Data Management Service and develop resources suitable for the needs of health researchers

Summary

Background

1.1 Introduction The Research Data Management Service is an increasingly familiar unit within a university, providing a range of services to support researchers who are creating, managing and sharing their research data. This paper presents a case study of work performed at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to establish a Research Data Management service. Service and tailor it to the needs of health researchers. It is a constituent member of the University of London and The Bloomsbury Colleges Group, located across two sites in central London As an institution, it is relatively small, its research has significant influence in its field, having the largest volume of world-leading research in the areas of public health, health services and primary care submitted for REF2014 ( Jump, 2014). (2) enhance infrastructure to support data management activities; and (3) improve data management practice among researchers within the institution

Strengthen the institution’s policy framework

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Findings

Conclusion