Have you lost files after misplacing a USB drive, or had a laptop suddenly fail? Have you experienced the frustration of needing to cite a downloaded image, dataset, or article in your assignment but are unable to find the original source?
These experiences are far too common, and can be particularly stressful as your deadlines draw nearer. The good news is these situations can easily be avoided - by having a research data management plan in place.
Research data is the information you collect or create, and which you use to provide evidence for your research. The data may be something you create from scratch (e.g. survey results or instrument readings) or may be pre-existing data which you have transformed and re-interpreted (e.g images or primary source texts).
By implementing a plan to better manage your research data, and incorporating some of the core practices for storing, organising and documenting your data, you will be able to work more efficiently with your files and better secure them in the event of device failure or accidental deletion.
To help you get started, the Library has created a new research data management guide within Moodle aimed specifically at Monash undergraduate and honours students. The guide will introduce you to the general principles of good research data management, address some common data management issues experienced throughout the research process, and provide some practical advice for managing your research data.
Get started
There’s no better time to implement a research data management plan than at the beginning of your research project or assignment! Don’t put it off, plan today for benefit tomorrow!
Lecturers: Would you like your students to know more about research data management? Add this resource to your Moodle units.
This article was written by Beth Pearson, Research Infrastructure Librarian.
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