Open Data

Open research data is a fundamental element of open research.

About the Research Data Management (RDM) Team

The Research Data Management (RDM) Team is part of the Library and provides services, training and support for researchers throughout the research lifecycle. We actively support and are advocates for the principles laid out in the Concordat on Open Research Data. Within our services, particular focus is given to best practices for open data, including planning, collaboration, FAIR data and data publishing.

Open Data planning

We offer a fully supported data management planning service to help researchers create their data management plan (DMP). All plans are created using DMPonline with a wide range of templates to reflect funders’ DMP requirements. We advise on policies, data protection and ethics, IP and licensing, and also on costing for data storage and preservation where necessary. The RDM Team can also review DMPs on request to help with grant applications or provide feedback.

Open Data sharing

Research funders increasingly mandate that data produced during a project be shared but beyond simple compliance sharing data has many benefits within the wider context of Open Research. Researchers are encouraged to make their data FAIR – Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable – an approach which helps to maximise discoverability, reproducibility and impact. Alongside this we appreciate that research data may be commercially sensitive, contain confidential information, or be otherwise subject to restrictions and we help make data resources “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”.

Open Data publishing

Advice and support is given on compliance, licensing and producing Data Access Statements to help link data to published outputs. Our Figshare research data repository provides an ideal platform to store and publish data resources at any stage of a project, but we can also assist with publishing data in external repositories.

Open Data policies

The University has a regularly reviewed and updated Research Data Management Policy, and alongside this there exists a wide variety of individual policies provided by funding bodies and agencies. The RDM Team help researchers to find the right route to compliance for their project.

Open Data support

Formal training and workshops are provided through the My Research Essentials programme, with online modules and resources to supplement these. For projects, groups or schools where a particular aspect of RDM needs to be considered there is also an option to develop tailored workshops.

Open Data contacts