Research Data Management (RDM)

Research data management 

Research data management (RDM) is about how you collect, organize, preserve, and share the data that support your research.

Research data lifecycle

The research data lifecycle includes everything from planning how data will be collected, to publication, to long term data preservation, to possible reuses of data. Steps of the lifecycle include: Plan, Acquire, Process, Analyze, Preserve, Share Results, and Reuse, but terms may differ based on institution, or field of research. 

Importance of RDM

There are several reasons RDM is important. Here are some:

• Funding agencies increasingly turn to data and reproducible results to approve research grants.
• Journal publishers require authors to provide a data availability statement (DAS).
• Data is a transient product and can be easily lost if not saved properly.
• Managing research data correctly saves time and money.
• Data that can be referenced, verified, and validated increases the accuracy and quality of the research. Sharing data can also often lead to developments and insights from its readers, even if they are outside the original research.

RDM Glossary

• Cornell Data Services
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• University of Waterloo
• USDA Data Management Glossary

Research data services have garnered sustained attention from library research support service providers for nearly two decades.^[1] Libraries have played a leading role in developing research data services, and on most university campuses they provide the largest and most diverse services.^[2] Ithaka 2024 survey reveals that libraries are still significant providers of research data services across institution types. The number of research data services by R2 Carnegie universities (n=165) is 1/3 of the number of services by R1 (n=495). 

CMU is designated as an R2 Carnegie research university. Data related research activities have been increased across CMU campus with funding agencies and journal publishers' data policies and mandates. CMU Library has provided data services to assist CMU researchers with data collection, data repositories, data management across the entire research data lifecycle from the earliest planning phase, through archiving and dissemination. The data services are aligned with ACRL's guidelines.   

Specifically, we can assist with researchers' needs such as:

• Acquire data collection needed for researchers within the library budget
• Find and access the data you need for your research;
• Help you to find relevant sources for your literature review;
• Provide information and assistance for creating your data management plans (DMP);
• Provide information and assistance for creating data documentation following metadata standards;
• Identify repositories suitable for depositing, preserving, and sharing different types of research data;
• Assist researchers to track data citation impact;
• Provide tailored consultations to assist individual researchers;
• Provide library instruction for classes related in using data collection and data management;
• Develop library research guides, workshops, and tutorials needed for CMU research community.

Contact the librarians for assistance:

• Rui Wang, Social Science Librarian / ICPSR Official Representative wang1r@cmich.edu | Schedule an appointment 
• Rebecca Renirie, Life Science / Medical Librarian hill2ra@cmich.edu
• Or, other Subject Librarians