The amount of research data is growing exponentially and the ability to manage and utilize research data effectively is essential to fulfil DTU's ambition to be one of the top five technical universities in Europe. At the same time, all research institutions meet increasing demands for safe storage, openness and high research integrity.
Research data
Research data may be defined as the material, data, records, files, and other evidence underpinning the findings of a given research project. Research data can vary greatly and come in many different formats. Some data are sensitive or confidential and must be treated with great care e.g. personal data.
You usually divide research data into:
- Primary material any material (e.g. specimens, laboratory notebooks, interviews, texts and literature, digital raw data, recordings and any other records including computer code) necessary for the reconstruction and evaluation of reported results of research and the events and processes leading to those results that forms the basis of the research.
- Data detailed records of the primary materials that comprise the basis for the analysis that generated the results.
Data management
Careful handling of research data and good data management routines are prerequisites for ensuring that the outcomes of research are reliable, credible and reproducible. Data management should be accounted for in all stages of a research project - in the planning phase, during collection and analysis stages, when you publish results and even after the project is finished.