Manage and plan

What is the desired data workflow? Will raw data be housed separately from derived, analysed or visualised data?

Working out where the data will be stored and what will be the designated source of truth will help prevent confusion and mitigate the risk of new data being overwritten by older data.

Documentation should include where your results and working data will be saved.

Naming files consistently in a standard format will help project efficiency, lower the risk of misplaced or lost data, greatly foster research reproducibility, and save you time.

Adopt a file naming convention that works for your project.

A version control system such as Git enables you to track changes to coding snippets and scripts. Explore some versioning options.

Non-digital data should be stored securely, for example, in fireproof, lockable filing cabinets, or within lockable offices.

Griffith provides safe and reliable solutions for the storage, transfer of sensitive and non-sensitive data and automatic and regular backing up of data for researchers.

Check to see which research storage service will ensure your data is protected and how you can give necessary access permissions to others working on your project.

Griffith's cybersecurity advice has useful information. Check the Griffith Data Protection site for steps towards ensuring you are cybersafe, i.e. using a password manager and encrypting all devices.

This includes transcription services, genome sequencing services, image processing or data visualisation services.

Griffith's cybersecurity advice has useful information.

Are there specific roles, for example, one person gathering data, another analysing it, a third visualising it, or will everyone be doing similar roles?

This might be an important issue when controlling levels of data access, especially if there are external partners.

Consult Digital Solutions to find how out and when you need to respond to a suspected data breach.

ARC open access policy requires grant recipients to deposit research output metadata (and preferably the data too) in an open repository within three months of project finalisation. Read the NHMRC open access policy for details on how it compares.

Increasingly, journals are requesting data with publication to allow others to test your research findings and build on your research. Learn more.

If your research will be shared for potential reuse, it is recommended that a licence, such as a Creative Commons Attribution licence, be applied to make that intention explicit. This Research Data Rights Management Guide includes flowcharts to guide decision-making.

Publishing and sharing sensitive data, or simply a description of your data, means that others can discover and cite it. You can publish a description of your data without making the data itself openly accessible. Read the Publishing and sharing sensitive data guide for more information.

Do you need to apply the minimum data retention periods, or longer?

The schedule of retention periods for research data and primary materials guides researchers in deciding on retention periods for research data and primary materials.