Research data management and public releasing

Research data management (RDM)

Research data management refers to the practice of handling all information (research data) collected or generated throughout an entire research activity, from the start to the conclusion, and managing such through the research process. In order to conduct superior quality research, it is necessary to appropriately manage research data.
In order to appropriately manage and release research data and to encourage its usage, TUAT sets forth the following policy and explanation.

For general information about research data management, refer to the following website as well.

Points of caution when considering public release

Concerning research data, the researcher must make a decision about open access, sharing, and closed access based on an open and close strategy.

  • Open access：providing research data in a format usable by anyone in general
  • Sharing：providing research data in a format usable by a limited class of individuals who have been granted access rights
  • Closed access：The option of not offering either open access or sharing

Publicly releasing research data has many benefits, such as ensuring transparency and impartiality in research results and creating new research and innovation through the reuse of data in other fields, so it is our hope that you consider actively releasing research data that can be publicly released. And if immediate public release is not appropriate, it is also possible to set an embargo period (closed access for a specific amount of time) for public release. However, the following kinds of research data cannot be publicly released.

・Research data for which the consent of everyone possessing rights to the data has not been obtained at the time of public release.

・Research data that includes legally problematic information (personal information, information pertaining to intellectual property such as patents, and information related to security).

・Research data that has restrictions against public release, such as joint research contracts with companies.

・Research data which includes content that is restricted from general public release due to legal or moral requirements, etc. in the research community.

Also, check this Pre-public-release check list.

Selecting a data repository

Types of data repositories include subject repositories, general-purpose repositories, and institutional repositories. When selecting the place to publicly release your research data, consider the following perspectives.

  • A repository which aligns with the conditions designated by the policies of the research funding agency you use and the organization accepting your academic paper submission
  • A subject repository widely recognized in your own research field
  • Long term storage, expenses, allocation of a persistent identifier (PID) such as a digital object identifier (DOI), rights management, license granting, data repository policy disclosure, international certification such as CoreTrustSeal, etc.

Websites for searching data repositories

General-purpose repositories

  • Zenodo
  • Figshare
  • J-STAGE Data
    Allows public release of data related to academic papers submitted to journals appearing on J-STAGE.

TUAT Repository (under construction)

Information such as the DOI for research data that has been publicly released on subject repositories and general-purpose repositories can be registered in TUAT Repository. Official operation for the registration and public release of research data is still under construction, but please feel free to contact us if you wish to publicly release research data in the TUAT Repository.

◎ Contact
Repository Representative：tuat-ir_at_ml.tuat.ac.jp