Digital preservation

DMPonline is a web-based tool that supports researchers to develop data management and sharing plans. It contains the latest funder templates and best practice guidelines to support users to create quality DMPs.

Within the tool you will find custom guidance and example answers to help you develop your DMP. These are offered by the DCC, research funders and many research organisations. You can also browse the growing list of public DMPs published by other users of the tool for inspiration.

The service is free at the point of use for researchers to develop DMPs regardless of whether their institution or funder is a customer. DMPonline is also available on subscription for institutions that require a customised service.

The Digital Curation Centre (DCC) is a centre of expertise in digital curation with a focus on building capability and skills for research data management. They provide expert advice and practical help to research organisations wanting to store, manage, protect and share digital research data.

Amongst the many resources they provide, they have a section of training materials available for developing and/or delivering research data management training. This includes their own DC 101 training materials for training researchers, as well as training materials for librarians and research administrators. They also point to training materials made available by other providers.

Free online course for those who manage digital data as part of the research process. It has been created for the use of post-graduate students, early career researchers, and also information professionals.

There are eight online units in this course and four data handling tutorials that will help you:

1. Understand the nature of research data in a variety of disciplinary settings
2. Create a data management plan and apply it from the start to the finish of your research project
3. Name, organise, and version your data files effectively
4. Gain familiarity with different kinds of data formats and know how and when to transform your data
5. Document your data well for yourself and others, learn about metadata standards and cite data properly
6. Know how to store and transport your data safely and securely (backup and encryption)
7. Understand legal and ethical requirements for managing data about human subjects; manage intellectual property rights
8. Understand the benefits of sharing, preserving and licensing data for re-use
9. Improve your data handling skills in one of four software environments: R, SPSS, NVivo, or ArcGIS

Each unit takes up to one hour, plus time for further reading and carrying out the data handling exercises. In the units you will find explanations, descriptions, examples, exercises, and video clips in which academics, PhD students and others talk about the challenges of managing research data.