10 marine Research Data Things: a Free self-paced Learning Program

10 marine Research Data (RD) Things is a self-paced learning program that was developed from the 23 (Research Data) Things program and the extensive ANDS resources and materials related to research data management and re-use (under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License).

Why do you need to manage your research data?

Effective research data management (RDM) of Marine Science Data is increasingly recognised as a critical part of the research process.
It enables:

  • Trust in data you obtain for reuse from other sources
  • Reproducibility of research through increasing veracity of data
  • Increased quality of your research
  • Strengthening of researchers’ reputation through increased citations and reach of all research outputs
  • Increased connectivity between all research outputs, and researchers
  • More efficient use of scarce research funds
  • Data description for sharing and collaboration
  • Reduced risk of loss or corruption of data

10 marine science (rd) Things

is a self-paced learning program that provides an opportunity to explore issues surrounding management of research data, specifically for researchers working with marine science data.

How can I work through these Things?

  • All Things have 1 to 3 Activities. You can pick and mix from the Activities to suit your interests.
  • You can do as much or as little of the Things and Activities as you want to do, or need to know.
  • Some of the Activities are intended as an introduction to a topic, and some delve a little deeper. Choose what interests you and suits your experience.
  • You can work through Activities on your own at your own pace, or in a group.

What are the topics and subtopics in the 10 Things?

THING 1

 

Getting started with research data

Research data comes in many shapes and sizes and its management changes over time. Kick off your research data journey by exploring different types and forms of research data and how they fit into the research lifecycle.

  • Activity 1: What is research data?
  • Activity 2: Data in the research lifecycle
  • Activity 3 : Importance of managing public sector open data

THING 2

Issues in research data management

Research data is critical to solving the big questions of our time.  So what are some of the issues we face in managing research data?

  • Activity 1: Research Data Management in Practice
  • Activity 2: How do you manage "Big Data"?

F.A.I.R.
Figshare - The State of Open Data
University of Tasmania - IMAS Temperate Marine, KEEN, and Reef Life Survey Data Collections
Data Sharing and Management Snafu in 3 Short Acts

THING 3

Data discovery

Data may be shared in many ways. Here are ways that data can be shared and is currently being shared.

  • Activity 1: Introduction to 'open', 'shared' and 'closed' data
  • Activity 2: Data sharing practices
  • Activity 3: Sharing sensitive data

Policies and issues with the management of animal tracking data
Open/Shared/Closed : The world of data
Can you publish and share sensitive data?
Managing sensitive ecological data

THING 4

Data Discovery

Here various data portals and repositories are explored.

  • Activity 1: Introduction to 'open', 'shared' and 'closed' data
  • Activity 2: Data sharing practices
  • Activity 3: Sharing sensitive data

Policies and issues with the management of animal tracking data
Open/Shared/Closed : The world of data
Can you publish and share sensitive data?
Managing sensitive ecological data

THING 5

What are the publishers & funders saying about data

Data sharing policies are becoming increasingly common in Australia and internationally. Learn why research funders and journal publishers are particularly influential when it comes to encouraging data availability.

  • Activity 1: Learn about journal data policies
  • Activity 2: Data Journals
  • Activity 3: Data sharing policies of funders

More information on open data policies of various publishers and organisations

THING 6

Describing data: metadata and controlled vocabularies

Metadata elements are essential for finding and reusing research data. Data is only as valuable as the metadata which describes and connects it. In addition to selecting a metadata standard or schema, whenever possible you should also use a controlled vocabulary. A controlled vocabulary provides a consistent way to describe data.

  • Activity 1: Metadata: your best friend
  • Activity 2: Controlled vocabularies for data description

THING 7

Data citation for access & attribution

Citation analysis and citation metrics are important to the academic community. Find out where data fits in the citation picture.

  • Activity 1: Getting more out of your citation
  • Activity 2: Data Citation Principles
  • Activity 3: DOIs are unique (just like you)

Persistent identifiers and data citation explained
An Example of Data Re-Use

THING 8

Licensing data for reuse

Understand the importance of data licensing, learn about Creative Commons and see how licensing data can assist in creating links with business and industry.

  • Activity 1: The cans and cannots of licensing
  • Activity 2: Licensing for data reuse

Creative Commons & sharing data
Creative Commons Licences (the alternative to Copyright)

THING 9

Data Management Plans

Some research institutions and research funders now require researchers to submit a Data Management Plan (DMP) for new projects.  What should a DMP cover?  Could you help with one? 

  • Activity 1: An introduction to Data Management Plans
  • Activity 2: Templates for Data Management Plans

THING 10

Dirty data

Dig in to dirty data.  What is it?  Why should we care? Try your hand at using an open source data cleansing tool.

  • Activity 1: Dirty data

What's next?

 

Reflect on the changes you could, and perhaps should, make in research data management practices which will enable the ethical and efficient publication of marine science data for reuse by the research community.

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