The Library: Research Data

Good organisation of your research data will enable you and your team to efficiently utilise the data throughout the research project and beyond. It also ensures data is ready to be shared and made open. 

Secure data storage reduces the risk of data loss or misuse. 

FAIR data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable. These principles set out how data should be organised so that they can be found, understood, shared and reused. This adds value to your research as others can utilise or build on your findings and it increases research transparency   

For more information and guidance, see the OpenAire How to Make Your Data FAIR guide.

It is important to thoroughly describe your data to make it more usable to others and therefore increase the likelihood of receiving citations for your data. Good data description (metadata) provides context regarding where, why, and how data was collected and processed.

It is good practice to plan for this at the start your research and then record the metadata throughout the project. 

What information to include

• Title - ensure this is understandable to external researchers
• Date(s) of data collection
• Location(s)
• Authors/data collectors
• Details of sampling and the methodology used e.g. the text of the questionnaire used or details of how you recruited participants
• Details of any specialist software used
• Data analysis details 
• Explanations of abbreviations or naming conventions used
• Link(s) to related publications if applicable
• Keywords
• Licencing information e.g. CC-BY licence

Further guidance

MIT Libraries have detailed guidance on documentation and metadata.  If your data is complex, you may wish to create a ReadMe file to deposit alongside your data. Cornell University has a Guide to writing "readme" style metadata. Please email us if you would like support with how to document your data. 

You should consider, preferably at the planning stage of a research project, how the data you produce can be used, reused and shared whilst the project is live and then also once the project is finished. Planning ahead can ensure your data has the highest benefits to you, your team and wider society.

Completed data i.e. for depositing into the Thesis and Research Data Repository

It is advisable to deposit tabular data (e.g. spreadsheets) as a Common Separated Values (*.csv) file. This is because it has a higher probability of ensuring long-term preservation of the data compared to, for example, Excel (*.xls or .xl) files where the software is periodically updated. 

Live data

The file formats you work with will be dependant on a range of factors including:

• The software available to you
• The file formats your colleagues and peers usually work with 
• Your own skills and preferences 
• Whether there is opportunity for you to purchase new software and learn how to use it

The UK Data Service has detailed advice and recommendations on file formats. 

Safe, secure data storage is essential for ensuring you do not lose valuable research and that it does not get misused. Guidance on where LBU staff and postgraduate research students should be storing data can be found on the Data Management Plans webpage. 

Storing sensitive research data

If your research data is sensitive, personal or confidential, you should also refer to the University's GDPR Data Protection and Research guidance and Research Ethics webpages. For data protection impact assessments, see the Information Governance webpage. 

Leeds Beckett University's Open Research Policy sets out our commitment to making the products of our research (both outputs and research data) publicly available.

Information about Leeds Beckett's commitment to research integrity, as well as policies related to research ethics and misconduct can be found here.

The UK Data Service has useful guidance on managing your research data throughout its lifecycle, including planning, sharing, data ethics, copyright and storage.