LibGuides: Research Data Management: RDM

Research data management (RDM) describes the organisation, storage, preservation, and sharing of data collected and used in a research project.

Research Data Management applies to all ATU staff and research students engaged in research, irrespective of funding, and those who are conducting research on behalf of the University.

Research data refers to anything that is required to validate or reproduce research findings, or to get a better understanding of them.

Being mindful of how you manage your data will help you to:

Fulfil funder and institutional expectations and policies
Ensure your data is accessible and shareable
Show responsible practice
Keep your research safe and secure
Increase your research efficiency
Enhance your research integrity
Increase your impact
Make your research outputs more visible
Facilitate collaboration

Making data available in a well-timed and responsible way ensures other researchers can validate it, develop it and use it to progress knowledge.

The management of research data is essential to high quality research and academic integrity. Whether you are an undergraduate, graduate, or an academic working on a research project, managing your data well is one of the best ways to ensure standardisation, reproducibility, and the ability to disseminate your research; along with saving you time in the long run. Without proper data management, the validity of research results might be doubted, jeopardising your reputation, as well as the reputation of the college.

Examples of research data:

text documents
audio and video recordings
photographs
spreadsheets
collections of digital objects
questionnaires, transcripts of interviews
algorithms, scripts

Data should be managed to be:

Compliant - funding bodies, institutions and publishers increasingly require grant-holders to develop and implement DMPs, with policies on how data is managed and shared.
Efficient - well-managed data enables data discovery, access, validation, analysis, shareability and longevity.
Responsible - data management is a fundamental ethics code of the responsible conduct of research.
Transparent - data that is suitably managed and described supports published research outcomes and improves data quality.

Where can I deposit my data?

Research@THEA is our shared Open Access Repository platform for researchers and academic staff to publish and promote their work.

See: Research@THEA LibGuide for more information.

A list of other trusted repositories is available at Re3data.

Tutorials & training

Open Science Training Courses - Foster
Research Data Management Training - Mantra
Rethinking Research Data - TEDx Talk

Forums & Networks

Ireland’s National Open Research Forum (NORF) was established in 2017 to drive the Irish agenda for Open Research.

National data stewardship network (Sonraí)

OpenAIRE is a socio-technical infrastructure for Open Scholarly Communication in Europe.

The EOSC Association works to implement EOSC and the EOSC Federation to advance Open Science practices in the interest of creating new knowledge, promoting innovation and reinforcing public trust in science.

National Framework on the Transition to an Open Research Environment

The National Framework on the Transition to an Open Research Environment is a strategic initiative launched by the Irish government in July 2019. Developed by the National Open Research Forum (NORF), it outlines a coordinated approach to adopting open research practices across Ireland. This framework aligns with Ireland’s broader research and innovation strategy, Innovation 2020, and is designed to enhance transparency, collaboration, and accessibility in research.