SciLifeLab launches Research Data Management (RDM) Guidelines portal
On 29th September, SciLifeLab Research Data Management (RDM) Guidelines web portal was launched. The portal, developed and maintained by SciLifeLab Data Centre in collaboration with NBIS, will serve as a knowledge hub for the management of life science research data in Sweden. It will provide guidance on best practices for each phase of the research data life cycle, on adherence to the FAIR principles, on how to make your data as open as possible, and how to maximize the research impact of data. The information will be specifically tailored to apply to life science data from the Swedish research perspective. Specific hands-on support will also be available to all those affiliated with a Swedish research institution via a dedicated Helpdesk. Over time, the portal will be expanded to include additional sections and community-driven content, in order to continue to ensure that it remains to serve its users well.
SciLifeLab advocate for good data management practices throughout the research data life cycle, adherence to the FAIR principles (i.e., that data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable), and for making data as open as possible, but as closed as necessary. These factors all impact the value the data will have to the research community; they have a major impact on the ability to reproduce research, as well as the likelihood of data reuse for other studies. As such, good Data Management practices, adherence to FAIR, and open sharing are all cornerstones of getting the most out of investments made to research infrastructure and funding.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way research is conducted in many ways. There was an unprecedented level of research collaboration and sharing of research data. This, in turn, has enabled greater sharing of data management practices and led to research data becoming more FAIR and open in general. This was crucial in accelerating research and minimizing the negative impacts of COVID-19 on society. Multiple efforts have now been established to sustain and expand what has currently been achieved in this area. The SciLifeLab RDM Guidelines web portal is part of the efforts of SciLifeLab and NBIS to achieve this in life science research within Sweden.
The SciLifeLab RDM Guidelines portal collates knowledge, information, guidelines, tools, and training material related to research data management. To facilitate the usability and recognizability of the portal, the content has been built around the phases of the research data life cycle; plan, collect, process, analyse, preserve, share and, reuse. Each phase includes additional information on guidelines, tools, relevant resources, and training material. Researchers may also easily find additional information about a number of individual RDM topics such as data transfer, metadata, and sensitive human data. In addition, the Portal has also collected RDM resources such as guidelines and data policies made available by Swedish universities, institutes, and organizations.
-“Our goal is to make the planning and management of research data easier and more efficient. The portal will make it easy for researchers to find RDM resources specifically focused on ljfe science”, says Elin Kronander, Data Steward at NBIS and team lead for the work with the SciLifeLab RDM guidelines portal.
All guidelines on the new SciLifeLab RDM Guidelines portal adhere to Open Science and Transparent research, and are examples of best practices in data management throughout the research data life cycle. In accordance with the principles behind the portal, all the source code used to create it has been made freely available on GitHub. Moving forward, the portal will be expanded to include new sections, and existing content will continue to be developed in order to maximise the benefits to the research community. This means that, whilst content will ultimately be moderated by the editorial team, we warmly welcome suggestions, content, and comments from the research community.
To find out more, or to get involved, please contact the joint SciLifeLab Data Centre and NBIS team behind the SciLifeLab RDM Guidelines portal https://data-guidelines.scilifelab.se/ , or use the associated contact form.
