Abstract
We present the approach to Research Data Management (RDM) support for researchers taken at ETH Zurich. Overall requirements are governed by institutional guidelines for Research Integrity, funders’ regulations, and legal obligations. The ETH approach is based on the distinction of three phases along the research data life-cycle: 1. Data Management Planning; 2. Active RDM; 3. Data Publication and Preservation. Two ETH units, namely the Scientific IT Services and the ETH Library, provide support for different aspects of these phases, building on their respective competencies. They jointly offer trainings, consulting, information, and materials for the first phase. The second phase deals with data which is in current use in active research projects. Scientific IT Services provide their own platform, <em>openBIS</em>, for keeping track of raw, processed and analysed data, in addition to organising samples, materials, and scientific procedures. ETH Library operates solutions for the third phase within the infrastructure of ETH Zurich’s central IT Services. <em>The Research Collection</em> is the institutional repository for research output including Research Data, Open Access publications, and ETH Zurich’s bibliography.
Highlights
Like all universities, ETH Zurich needs to address increasing requirements in Research Data Management (RDM)
While several services for RDM support for researchers have been in place for years, they were not initially integrated over the full research data life-cycle
The overall formal background for RDM is set by existing regulations on the level of the university and beyond
Summary
ETH Zurich needs to address increasing requirements in Research Data Management (RDM). Some of these are driven by continuous development of methods in science and technology. While several services for RDM support for researchers have been in place for years, they were not initially integrated over the full research data life-cycle. For the reasons outlined above and accelerated by changed funders’ policies, the need to support the full data life-cycle has become more pressing only in recent years. The services described here serve researchers including doctoral students, post-docs, and other, more senior scientific staff. These groups add up to over 6’000 FTE. As the current state is not intended to be static or final, its strengths and weaknesses are discussed with a view towards future development
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