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Research Data Management Guide

A guide for managing data.

How to Pick A Data Storage Site

While most DMP requirements are focused around the organization and management of your data after your research is complete (how you or others will access the data), where the research data is stored is also an important consideration.

You may need to take into account the level of security required for your data; for example, data that includes personal and potentially identifiable information will require a higher level of security than a text analysis. 

If you are depositing your data into a data repository, be sure to familiarize yourself with the repository requirements -- some repositories have file size limits, only accept certain types of data, or may require CC licensing. If you have data space limitations and need to compress your data, make sure to use a common compression tool (i.e., ZIP or TAR).

Data Storage Options

Data Preservation

Data preservation is different from data storage in that it involves the curation and maintenance of the research data. Preservation goes beyond simply saving data on a server, and includes the creation of descriptive records, data integrity checks, and format migrations (if necessary).

Many funding agencies require a DMP that will describe plans to support long-term preservation of your data. What "long-term preservation" actually means is not always defined, but you will need to choose a time period that follows any funding requirements. It may be easier to determine a minimum amount of time you will preserve the data. One suggestion is to start with the amount of time that it will take for others to cite your paper, and then add five years to that. 

An example of a data retention / preservation statement might look like this:

Data will be kept for at least 10 years after the completion of the grant period. After this period, the data may be subject to deletion if it has not been reused, accessed, or cited.

Or this:

Data will be deposited to Dryad, which is committed to long-term data preservation and access, and will be available indefinitely.

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