Introduction to Research Data Management and Data Management Plans

1st Year PhD Training –EEMCS Introduction to Research Data Management and Data Management Plans Data Stewards - Who Are We? ▪ 31/10/2025 2 Plan for the day: 09:30 –10:45 Welcome and Introduction to RDM 10:45 –11:00 Break 11:00 –11:50 RDM Services and Open Science at TU Delft 11:50 –12:30 Research Data and Software Policies and Guides 12:30 –13:15 Lunch 13:15 –14:00 How to write a DMP (Hands -on) 14:00 –14:30 How to work with DMPs when personal data is involved in Research This Training is for you. •Ask any questions you have at any time. •No prior knowledge is required. •This is a general information session. Some elements may not apply to your project. Research Data Management Make a list of the data that you are (or will be) using in your project 2 mins Research Data refers to all information that is used and produced in the research project lifecycle. Existing data that is being re-used in the project. Examples: •Data from previous studies •Live sensor data •Social media data •Existing tools to create synthetic data Research Data Input data Data from previous studies Synthetic Data Tools Live sensor data New data created during the research project. Examples: •Survey / interview responses •Experimental measurements •Simulation outputs •Code and research software •Prepared materials (e.g. survey/interview questions, images/video/text assets) •Temporary files •Documentation •Presentations, publications, articles. Research Data Input dataGenerated data Interviews Health Data Recordings Statistics Surveys Social media posts Findable “Metadata and data should be easy to find for both humans and computers.” •File naming conventions and versioning •Consistent folder structure •Searchable files •Documentation and changelogs During Project Findable “Metadata and data should be easy to find for both humans and computers.” Establish a folder structure ▪Work from a single folder for your project and separate out different types of documents in sub-folders. ▪Have a README.md file in the Project Folder to keep track of things such as file naming conventions or significant changes to the structure Further reading: •Data Storage and Organisation –The Turing Way Book Findable “Metadata and data should be easy to find for both humans and computers.” Use a file naming convention ▪You may need multiple conventions for different types of files. ▪Note down the naming convention in a README file. ▪You can use a worksheet like this one to help decide a convention ▪Use a consistent versioning style: Semantic versioning for incrementally updated work (software, diagrams, publications). Semantic versioning: vMAJOR.Minor.patch v1.2.0 Further reading: •File naming convention worksheet –Caltech Library •Data Conventions –TUD DCC Guides Image attribution: https://www.data.cam.ac.uk/files/gdl_tilsdocnaming_v1_20090612.pdf Findable “Metadata and data should be easy to find for both humans and computers.” Documentation and Changelogs ▪Use README.md files to describe folder contents. ▪If you change file naming convention, or you have to store data elsewhere (e.g. for security reasons, leave a note in the README.md file Further reading: •Writing a README –TUD DCC Guides •Landing page README –The Turing Way Book (READMEs for project repositories) Accessible Accessible “Data and metadata should be easily accessible to those with authorisation” Security Availability Accessible “Data and metadata should be easily accessible to those with authorisation” Overview of storage solutions available to you. Project Storage Drive (U:) (TUD network storage) OneDrive (Cloud Storage EU/US) SURFdrive (Cloud Storage NL) •Hosted at TU Delft •250 GB –5+ TB •Rolling backups made daily and kept for 2 weeks. •Must be on-campus or via VPN. •Considered safe for confidential data. •Data stored in EU. Contract between TUD and Microsoft for data protection. •300GB •Full integration with Microsoft tools •Stored on Dutch servers. •1TB •Includes Collabra office suite. •Google Drive/OneDrive replacement Availability Further reading: •Project Drive –TUD Storage Finder •SURFdrive –TUD Storage Finder •Onedrive –TUD Storage Finder Accessible “Data and metadata should be easily accessible to those with authorisation” You may receive data that cannot be shared outside of the research project. Security Commercially sensitive data (schematics of microprocessors, patentable research outputs) Other sensitive data (information on national critical infrastructure, data collected by law enforcement) Personal data (contact details of participants, health data from hospitals) •Use secure storage such as Project Drive and SURF FileSender •Discuss with collaborators what can be published •May have to sign an NDA •Often not stored at TUD. Access is through their own secure systems on-site •Strict rules on what can and cannot be published. •May have to sign an NDA. •Very broad definition. If you work with data that comes from humans, you will need to discuss with Data Stewards. •Often requires ethics approval (HREC). Further reading: •PRDW+ Guide –TUD Intranet –Guide for using personal data in research. •Sensitive Data Projects –The Turing Way Book –General guidance on confidential data Accessible “Data and metadata should be easily accessible to those with authorisation” You may receive data that cannot be shared outside of the research project. Security Commercially sensitive data (schematics of microprocessors, patentable research outputs) Other sensitive data (information on national critical infrastructure, data collected by law enforcement) Personal data (contact details of participants, health data from hospitals) •Use secure storage such as Project Drive and SURF FileSender •Discuss with collaborators what can be published •May have to sign an NDA •Often not stored at TUD. Access is through their own secure systems on-site •Strict rules on what can and cannot be published. •May have to sign an NDA. •Very broad definition. If you work with data that comes from humans, you will need to discuss with Data Stewards. •Often requires ethics approval (HREC). If you are using data collected from human data subjects, you will need to get Human Research Ethics Approval. Interoperable Research Data Repositories Research Data Repositories DOI (persistent identifier) Research Data Repositories Contact persons with associated ORCiD Searchable keywords Questionnaire on AI Use by Researchers https://forms.office.com/e/PXK7606suS AI Act and AI in Research ▪AI Act came into force 1st Aug 2024. Currently enforced: ▪Development of any Prohibited AI types must have stopped. ▪Implementation of the classification system for AI systems. ▪Will enter full force 2nd Aug 2026 ▪There will be much more scrutiny on AI projects, especially those that intersect with GDPR. ▪General guidance for this is currently indevelopment. Data Compliance AI Act and AI in Research ▪Guidelines for use of AI in research are constantly evolving. ▪See the intranet pages for the latest advice: ▪On the types of usage allowed ▪And the tools that are currently supported. ▪copilot.microsoft.com Data Compliance Plan for the day: 13:00 Welcome and Introduction to RDM 13:50 RDM Services and Open Science at TU Delft 14:10 Research Data and Software Policies and Guides 14:30 Break for Refreshments 14:45 How to write a DMP (Hands -on) 15:30 How to work with DMPs when personal data is involved in Research RDM Services What services within TU Delft have you used or heard about so far? 1 minute RDM Services within the University 4131/10/2025 •Data Stewards •Faculty Information Security Co-Ordinator (FISC) •Research Engineering and Infrastructure (REIT) •Contract Managers •Faculty IT Manager (FIM) At EEMCS •Digital Competence Centre (DCC) •4TU.ResearchData •Library •ICT Services •Privacy Team •Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) •Knowledge Security At TU Delft RDM and Related Services outside the University 4831/10/2025 •SurfDrive •SURF –ResearchDrive •SURF –AI Hub •Computational Infrastructure ▪NWO call - Computing Time on National Computing Facilities | NWO ▪SURF call - 1. Small Compute requests (NWO) •LCRDM Within Netherlands •EOSC –European Open Science Cloud •EOSC EU Node •File Sync and Share •Virtual Machines •Interactive Notebooks •Large File Transfer and more •RDA –Research Data Alliance European Level RDM and Related Services outside the University 4931/10/2025 •SurfDrive •SURF –ResearchDrive •SURF –AI Hub •Computational Infrastructure ▪NWO call - Computing Time on National Computing Facilities | NWO ▪SURF call - 1. Small Compute requests (NWO) •LCRDM Within Netherlands •EOSC –European Open Science Cloud •EOSC EU Node •File Sync and Share •Virtual Machines •Interactive Notebooks •Large File Transfer and more •RDA –Research Data Alliance European Level RDM and Related Services outside the University 5031/10/2025 •SurfDrive •SURF –ResearchDrive •SURF –AI Hub •Computational Infrastructure ▪NWO call - Computing Time on National Computing Facilities | NWO ▪SURF call - 1. Small Compute requests (NWO) •LCRDM Within Netherlands •EOSC –European Open Science Cloud •EOSC EU Node •File Sync and Share •Virtual Machines •Interactive Notebooks •Large File Transfer and more •RDA –Research Data Alliance European Level Open Science Open Science at TU Delft 5231/10/2025 •Open Access •Open Access Publishing •Open Education •FAIR Data and FAIR Software •Open Hardware •Citizen Science Programme •Open Science Community Delft (OSCD) •Strategic Plans •Open Science Netherlands (OSNL) Other Images curtesy of The Turing Way Community doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7625728. Open Science at TU Delft 5331/10/2025 •Open Access •Open Access Publishing •Open Education •FAIR Data and FAIR Software •Open Hardware •Citizen Science Programme •Open Science Community Delft (OSCD) •Strategic Plans •Open Science Netherlands (OSNL) Other Images curtesy of The Turing Way Community doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7625728. Open Science at TU Delft 5431/10/2025 •Open Access •Open Access Publishing •Open Education •FAIR Data and FAIR Software •Open Hardware •Citizen Science Programme •Open Science Community Delft (OSCD) •Strategic Plans •Open Science Netherlands (OSNL) Other Images curtesy of The Turing Way Community doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7625728. Plan for the day: 13:00 Welcome and Introduction to RDM 13:50 RDM Services and Open Science at TU Delft 14:10 Research Data and Software Policies and Guides 14:30 Break for Refreshments 14:45 How to write a DMP (Hands -on) 15:30 How to work with DMPs when personal data is involved in Research Policies and Guides References: The PhD Development Cycle: https://intranet.tudelft.nl/en/group/guest/-/phd-development-cycle Grimes, R. (2024) TU Delft Icons DS Extension set: https://gitlab.tudelft.nl/R.W.G.Grimes/tu-delft-icons-ds-expansion-set Research Data Management 101: https://intranet.tudelft.nl/en/-/r4.a1-research-data-management-101?p_l_back_url=%2Fen%2Fsearch%3Fredirect%3D%252F%26q%3Dr4.a1 Image credit: Strandberg, J. (2024) Data Steward BK 57 1st year PhD DMPs and Go/No-Go Go/No-GoStart of PhD Introduction to RDM and advice on drafting the DMP RDM training* for PhDs Creates DMP draft in DMPonline v1.1 Submits documents for GNG Provides input and feedback on the DMP and research plan PhD Promotor / Supervisor Reviews first draft of DMP** Advises if other support staff should be contacted Faculty Data Steward Revises DMP draft Based on feedback v1.2 Begins compiling PhD research plan v1.1 Attend Research Data Management training 5-8 months Create a Data Management Plan 9-11 months PhD Agreement 3 months 9-12 months * RDM 101 a more intensive and hands on course is offered by the library **DS feedback is recommended, but not mandatory before the GNG. v1.2 https://dmponline.tudelft.nl Creating a DMP DMPs •Project details page •Give your project a good title. •Have a project description that provides context on your project, and a description of the data collection and processing steps you intend to take. •Other sections here are optional. 65 31/10/2025 DMPs •Questions designed to get you to think about your data. •Questions appear as needed. •Is your data sensitive? •GDPR •Commercial data •Is your data/code technically demanding? •Big data sets (>1TB) •HPC requirements •Request feedback from us and get comments on each question 66 31/10/2025 The template was recently updated to the 2025 version. If you started a DMP before January this year, you may be using the 2021 version. DMPs •Questions designed to get you to think about your data. •Questions appear as needed. •Is your data sensitive? •GDPR •Commercial data •Is your data/code technically demanding? •Big data sets (>1TB) •HPC requirements •Request feedback from us and get comments on each question 67 31/10/2025 The template was recently updated to the 2025 version. If you started a DMP before January this year, you may be using the 2021 version. Link to this presentation -> Version Control ▪Version control is a system for tracking changes to a project over time. ▪Git is a popular version control tool that platforms such as GitHub and GitLab are built on. ▪Courses on using Git for version control are available at the TU Delft Library. ▪We have our own GitLab instance at TUD for confidential code development. ▪Git can be used to version control more than just your code. ▪Git works well on: Code, text files (including LaTeX and MS Word), and small amounts of data. ▪Git does not work well for: Binary or container files (e.g. .exe, .bin, .jar, .mp4, .png, .wav), or moderate to large datasets. Main Feature Image credit Git logo: https://git-scm.com/ Practical Tips for Managing Data Useful software ▪Zotero: Open-source reference manager with plugins for Firefox, Chrome, Word. Has basic pdf highlighting and notes feature. ▪Obsidian Notes: Note taking app, wide range of plugins to extend functionality. ▪Bitwarden: Password & 2FA manager.