Research Data Management Planning Workshop: Active Data Management

This guide is a description and list of useful links adapted from the Data Management Planning Workshop, an asynchronous online workshop for UW community members engaged in research with data.

How do I start managing my data?

There are many ways to document your data as you acquire and analyze it. Below is a list of resources that can help document, store and secure your data. It is important to consider the needs of your particular research and the standards of your field.

Good Data Documentation Procedures

File Naming and Organization
UW Data Management Guide with file naming conventions and organization
Metadata
Basic Approach to Metadata from Stanford University
Discipline Specific Metadata
Digital Curation Center Disciplinary Metadata Catalog provides metadata standards for several different disciplines, along with tools to help implement these standards
README files
Guidance from Dryad Repository on how to create README files to help ensure that your data can be correctly interpreted and reanalyzed by others
Example README file
Detailed example of a README file
Guide to writing "readme" style metadata
Cornell University's guide with best practices and recommendations for writing "readme" style metadata files. Includes a template that you can adapt for your own data.

Software for Documenting Your Process

Git
Versioning software that creates backups of your work
GitHub
Hosting Service that can helps keep track of versioned code and provides tools for project management and collaboration
Jupyter
Service for coding intensive projects that allows integration of explanatory text into live code and visualizations
RedCap
Web-based service for clinical trials and biomedical research (HIPPA- compliant) that can be used to design and distribute surveys and store and analyze data
Harvard Electronic Lab Notebook Matrix
A Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) software matrix that can help researchers identify a usable ELN solution to meet their specific research needs.
Open Science Framework
OSF is an open source cloud-based project management platform that helps teams collaborate in one centralized location and provides file hosting, version control, persistent URLs, and DOI registration.

Storage Resources

UW Online Storage Resources
List of online storage options available through the UW
Indirect Cost Waiver
Information regarding indirect cost waiver for UW storage resources
UW Medicine
Cloud services recommendations by the Department of Medicine
Cloud & Email
Cloud and email recommendations by the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering

Security

UW IT Connect
Information about creating secure connections within the UW system and best guidance practices around passwords and virus scans
Online Safety Information
Information about safe online practices from UW IT

Questions?

If you have questions about data management, please email the Data Services Team at uwlib-data@uw.edu.