Primer on Data Management: What you always wanted to know

Abstract

www.dataone.org Primer on Data Management: What you always wanted to know* * but were afraid to ask Carly Strasser, Robert Cook, William Michener, Amber Budden Contents Objective of This Primer Why Manage Data? It will benefit you and your collaborators It will benefit the scientific community Journals and sponsors want you to share your data How To Use This Primer The Data Life Cycle: An Overview Data Management Throughout the Data Life Cycle Plan Collect Assure Describe: Data Documentation Preserve Discover, Integrate, and Analyze Conclusion Acknowledgements References Glossary Objective of This Primer The goal of data management is to produce self-describing data sets. If you give your data to a scientist or colleague who has not been involved with your project, will they be able to make sense of it? Will they be able to use it effectively and properly? This primer describes a few fundamental data management practices that will enable you to develop a data management plan, as well as how to effectively create, organize, manage, describe, preserve and share data. Why Manage Data? 2.1. It will benefit you and your collaborators Establishing how you will collect, document, organize, manage, and preserve your data at the beginning of your research project has many benefits. You will spend less time on data management and more time on research by investing the time and energy before the first piece of data is collected. Your data also will be easier for you to find, use, and analyze, and it will be easier for your collaborators to understand and use your data. In the long term, following good data management practices means that scientists not involved with the project can find, understand, and use the data in the future. By documenting your data and recommending appropriate ways to cite your data, you can be sure to get credit for your data products and their use [1]. DataONE Best Practices Primer