What is Research Data Management?

Managing research data is an integral part of research, and having a systematic way to do this provides evidence of integrity in your research process. Research data management is the systematic organization of data throughout the research cycle, including:

1. Planning and developing a data management plan (DMP)
2. Collecting and storing data
3. Processing, uploading, and retrieving data
4. Analyzing data and publishing research results
5. Storing data for long-term access or archiving

Benefits of Data Management

Data management throughout the research process has the following benefits:

• Increases the impact of your research by citing data from authoritative sources
• Provides evidence and documentation for your research data in conjunction with published results
• Complies with funders requirements and with copyright, access, and ethical considerations (such as HIPAA or FERPA)
• Preserves data for long-term access and safeguards your investment from loss
• Allows you to share data with others to further new discoveries and research

How Can We Help? Where Do I Begin?

Successful data management requires a team approach during planning and implementation. UNT offers various services to support management of data by members of the UNT community.

The UNT Libraries provides advice for students and staff developing a data management plan (DMP) and offers repositories for preserving and accessing data created by UNT researchers.

The UNT Research Information Technology Services (RITS) supports faculty, researchers, and students on issues related to data analytics, software support, and high-performance computing. There are two offices within RITS: Data Science and Analytics & High-Performance Computing. Visit RITS homepage for further details or request consultation.

The UNT College of Education, Office of Research Consulting supports the research needs of faculty and graduate students with grants, research, dissertations, and classwork to further their statistical understanding and enhancing the research atmosphere at UNT. Visit the ORC homepage to request consultation.

To learn more about research data management, including creating a data management plan (DMP), see our guide to data management.