If you want to manage your research data better but don't know where to begin, this short workbook will help you get started! The Data Management Workbook helps researchers design useful data-management plans through a step-by-step series of structured exercises, worksheets and checklists, including: - creating a data dictionary - evaluating a lab notebook - finding the best way to organize your files - setting up useful file naming conventions - writing effective README.txt files - selecting the right data repository - determining data stewardship - preparing data for future use Suitable for researchers working in many different disciplines, this guide also shows how to customize data-management plans to better fit your individual workflows, methodologies, laboratories and datasets. Author Kristin Briney builds on the foundations in her previous book, Data Management for Researchers, to help bridge the gap between understanding the principles and being able to implement data management as part of your research practice.
Kristin Briney is the Biology & Biological Engineering Librarian at the California Institute of Technology. She is the author of Data Management for Researchers and coauthor, with Becky Yoose, of Managing Data for Patron Privacy. She has a PhD in chemistry and an MLIS, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She specializes in research data management, institutional data policy, and patron privacy with respect to library data handling. Kristin is an advocate for the adoption of the international date standard ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) and likes to spend her free time making data visualizations out of yarn.
Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 What is Data Management? 1.2 The Research Data Lifecycle 1.3 Why Do Data Management? 1.4 Using This Book to Manage Your Data Better Chapter 2. Documentation Exercise 2.1: Evaluate a Laboratory/Research Notebook Exercise 2.2: Document Project Information Exercise 2.3: Create a Data Dictionary Exercise 2.4: Build a Documentation Template Chapter 3. File Organization and Naming Exercise 3.1: Set up a File Organization System Exercise 3.2: Create a File Naming Convention Chapter 4. Data Storage and Security Exercise 4.1: Pick Storage and Backup Systems Exercise 4.2: Test Your Backup Exercise 4.3: Create a Strong Passphrase Chapter 5. Data Management Planning and Policies Exercise 5.1: Write a Data Management Plan for a Funding Application Exercise 5.2: Write a Living Data Management Plan Exercise 5.3: Identify Applicable Data Policies Exercise 5.4: Determine Data Stewardship Chapter 6. Data Sharing Exercise 6.1: Make a Spreadsheet more Accessible and Reusable Exercise 6.2: Write a README File for Shared Data Exercise 6.3: Write Alt Text for a Data Visualization Exercise 6.4: Pick a Data Repository for Sharing Exercise 6.5: Select a License for Your Shared Data Exercise 6.6: Share Data Exercise 6.7: Cite a Publicly Available Dataset Chapter 7. Project Wrap-up Exercise 7.1: Convert Data File Types Exercise 7.2: Create an "Archive" Folder Exercise 7.3: Prepare Data for Future Use Exercise 7.4: Separate from Your Institution
