Interest in research data is growing and researchers are being encouraged to have a research data management plan covering research project life and after life. Measuring research impact has traditionally focused on the results in the majority of disciplines but a shift towards measuring the impact of research data means researchers need to have a clear research data storage resource, and a research data management plan that complies with national data laws, research ethics, intellectual property and caters for re-use and re-purpose.
Hence the questions where do you store your research data (raw data and results)? Here are a few research data storage locations I have found:
Personally Controlled storage
- USB drive,
- HDD
- CD ROMs
- DVDs
Cloud storage
- DropBox
- Google Drive
- Box
- Microsoft SkyDrive
- Amazon Cloud
- SpiderOak
- Organisation proprietary shared drives/ space or private clouds
Research sharing and networking sites with data storage repository
- Figshare
- Mendeley
- Research Gate
- Academia.edu
Please add to the list ...
I think different methods can be used to store research data. Anyone can create a database and store their data in organized way. MS Excel is one of the best data management software for organizing and managing research data because of its compatibility to statistical software such as SAS-STAT, SPSS, etc. Moreover, Dropbox is now on of the best alternatives to store both research data and important documents.
I don't think there is a single answer to this question. It depends on the size of your dataset and it's complexity. You will also need to make sure you are compliant with any legal requirements to store data (e.g. the Data protection Act (DPA) in the UK). I would be wary of using thrid party cloud storage for non anonymised data, but I am working with data that is classed as sensitive by the DPA, so I have to be very cautious about storage.
I'm wary of Excel because I've had problems with it automatically assuming UK style dates are in American format which has caused problems with timestamped data sequences.
The Digital Curation Centre has got a lot of info about data management plans and an online Data Management Plan (DMP) template which is very useful if you need to write a DMP. It's set up to meet the requirements of many UK funders (but there is a generic template too).
Many researchers use there own storage facilities as the most common method for storage and while I believe this might be a wonderful place for easy access, it doesn't make one's data easily accessible to others - only the immediate few who are interested in such research.
Once the research is finalised and confirmed, as a reliable source of information upon which new or extended research can occur, publishing of the new literary data should take place as an obligatory process - thus, assuring future generations of researchers, a base for accessing data. Publications can then be take-up by the likes of the Gutenburg Institute, Wolfram Library Archive, and the Smithsonian. Don't get me wrong, there are hoops you will need to jump through in order to be accepted. However, if you have a good record of publishing academic research, the likelihood of storage is higher. Plus, who doesn't like the idea of publishing one's hard work? The more readers...the greater progress for a resolution to occur and the world's problems are considerably less.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Methodology
- Research Methodology
- Research Papers