Research Data Management Guide: Thanks to ANDS

From September 2012 to September 2013, Charles Darwin University received funding from the Australian National Data Service  to undertake a project in its Seeding the Commons Program (the CDUeData Project). The Seeding the Commons Program aimed to improve the fabric for data management in a way that increased the amount of content in the data commons and improved the state of data capture and management across the research sector.

The CDUeData Project was a university wide project at Charles Darwin University, governed by the Office of Library Services, the Office of Research and Innovation and various researcher representatives.  The CDUeData Project' was overseen by Ruth Quinn, Director of Library Services in the Office of Library Services. Neil Godfrey, the Library Digital Collections Co-ordinator, managed the Project.  The Library and CDU Researchers were the major contributors to the Project and undertook the following activities:

• Researched research data management policies at other Australian universities to draft revised institutional research data management policy and procedures documents in conjunction with CDU's Office of Research and Innovation. The documents were submitted to the University Research and Research Training Committee in July 2013.
• Contacted and interviewed researchers at CDU with a view to increasing awareness of research data management and understanding current practices, as well as identifying existing datasets that could be described on Research Data Australia.
• Sourced information and created high standard records for Research Data Australia.
• Development of a research data management guide and template to assist researchers in creating research data managment plans.
• The creation of this research data management Library Guide as an information resource to support research data management activities at CDU.

The CDU Library acknowledges with thanks the support received from ANDS during the Project, and in particular our Client Liaison Officer, Dr. Richard Ferrers.

A number of CDUeData Project documents have been developed, either as a resource to support researchers in their research data managment, or internal process documents to support staff undertake the Project's activities.

 Draft documents under review by the CDU Research and Research Training Committee are the:

• CDU Research Data Management Policy
• CDU Research Data Management Proceedures

A brochure and templates for metadata are being drafted and will be added to this guide as soon as approved.

The CDU Library is committed to continuing to support CDU researchers in relation to research data management.  Library staff continue to develop their understanding of good practice for research data management and associated data management issues, and to raise awareness of the same amongst CDU researchers. This will be communicated through individual and group consultations and training with postgraduate students and researchers and development of support documents.