This guide has been created to help research staff and students find information relating to research resources, publishing, open access and research impact.
The management, preservation and sharing of data are integral to modern research practice. Find here an introduction to Research Data Management and an overview of the Research Data Management Lifecycle.
Public funders of research and the University require researchers to manage their research data responsibly, and to plan for the long-term preservation and sharing of data supporting research outputs. Find here an overview of the main funders’ policies and the University’s Research Data Management Policy.
Many funders require new grant applications to include a Data Management Plan (DMP) describing the data that will be collected in the research, how the data will be managed during the research process, and how they will be preserved in the long term and made available for consultation and re-use by others. DMPs are also practical tools that can help you conduct your research more effectively. In addition to general guidance on writing DMPs, we provide downloadable guides on preparing DMPs for Research Council and EC grant applications.
Once you are actively engaged in your research, you will be collecting, processing and managing data on an ongoing basis. Here you can find guidance on: where to store your data; the practicalities of managing data on a day-to-day basis, including organising and naming files; and recording the documentation and metadata required to interpret, validate and use the data.
As your research nears completion, you will need to think about depositing the data that support your research outputs in a suitable data centre or data repository, where they will be preserved for the long term, and made available to others for consultation and re-use. This section provides guidance on choosing the right data repository to preserve and share your data.
The University of Reading Research Data Archive is our institutional data repository. Any member of staff or research student can deposit in the Archive data collected in the course of research to ensure they are preserved and remain accessible for the long-term.
Data access statements, or data availability statements, are used in publications to describe where supporting data and other materials can be found and under what conditions they can be accessed. Here we provide guidance on best practice for referencing data from related publications.
If you are ready to deposit your data in the UoR Research Data Archive, you may book a consultation for assistance using the "Book an appointment" link on this webpage. We recommend reading the guidance on this webpage before you deposit.
