Searching and finding my own research data is taking a lot of effort. Can you help me?

Organizing your research data can be a major challenge. We are happy to help you develop a strategy that makes it easier for you to find what you need – whether your data is stored in a notebook, a hard drive, or on your network.

I am worried that data will be lost in the case of a change of personnel. How can I make sure that does not happen?

Staff turnover is not unusual in laboratories. As every individual is responsible for their own data, it can be difficult to keep everything together. We will gladly help you establish a sustainable system for storing your entire laboratory data. Why not have a look at our electronic laboratory notebooks?

I save my data in Excel spreadsheets. Is this sufficient?

This depends on your situation.

Data analysis: While you are actively analysing your data, Excel might be the most convenient place to do so. However, Excel file formats change regularly, which might mean that you will no longer have access to your data years later. As file formats change over time, as is the case with Excel, not everyone might be able to read the relevant files in all cases. Therefore, the use of comma-separated formats (.csv) is best suited for exchanging and archiving data.

Spreadsheet programmes vs databases: If you maintain various fields for your data sets and would like to search for complex combinations of those fields, spreadsheets might not be the best solution. You can use a simple database that includes a more sophisticated search function. We can help you decide whether this is necessary for your purposes. We can also help you set up a simple database.

Do I have to use metadata?

Metadata is information that describes your data. Over the years, you have probably been collecting metadata in a laboratory notebook. Who conducted the experiment? When was the experiment conducted? What are the findings from the experiment? Which samples were used? What were the conditions of the experiment? And so on.

Metadata is important for everyone – including yourself – who would like to examine and use your data files in the future. Imagine a file with 40 columns and 7000 rows of numbers that only contains cryptic abbreviations for headers. Or a folder with numerous images that are only designated as ‘IMG_2764’, for example. Such data is not helpful to anyone.

The use of consistent, standardised terminology clearly specifies what you mean and facilitates the search for information of a specific kind among numerous data sets or automated processing of large volumes of data sets.

I would like to integrate data management skills into my syllabus. Can you assist me?

We believe that it is never too early to start applying proper data management. We will gladly give advice on how you can include advanced data management methods in your syllabus and, if you want us to, we will also visit you in class. Feel free to contact us.

I keep hearing I have to share my data. Is that true?

That depends, in part, on the third party funding your research or the director and on your data. Carefully check the policies of your funding institution.

We are happy to help you find out to what extent the policies of your funding institution apply to your research project. If they do not contain any specifications, you should consider sharing data that supports published articles or that could potentially be reused by others, including software code.

How can I publish my research data?

Use a repository to publish your data.

I do not know whether I can publish my data as it contains patient data or other sensitive data or because I have made an agreement with my external funding provider (licence agreement). Is that a problem?

Funding institutions understand that certain sensitive data cannot be shared. You should give reasons why you cannot share some or all of your data in your data management plan.

Do I own the copyright on my data?

Copyright in Germany (Urheberrecht) only protects the form of a work, not its content. Therefore, the copyright only applies to the manner in which the data is presented. If it is presented in writing or graphically, the texts and images can be protected by copyright. The findings and data themselves, on the other hand, are not protected. The same is true for ideas, methods and doctrines as these are free and thus not protected by any copyrights – unless they are patented technological inventions or protected utility models.

Moreover, a minimum level of individuality and novelty must be achieved in order to attain the threshold of originality. This is a prerequisite for a copyright to apply. Case histories, questionnaires/responses and descriptions of experiments are therefore generally not covered by copyright.

Nonetheless, it is recommended to initially treat research data as if it were in need of protection in accordance with the German copyright law (Urheberrechtsgesetz) as the intellectual effort required for it to apply may be given in some cases. However, this can only be determined by assessing each individual case.

Please find further information on the topic of copyright in the field of research data here.

Am I allowed to publish my data?

The publication of data may be prohibited under specific circumstances. The most important prerequisite for publishing data is that you have comprehensive ownership rights to the data. Furthermore, there is data that must be treated confidentially, e.g. personal data. For such data to be published, the data subjects must give their consent and the data may have to be anonymised.

Who else has a right to make decisions regarding the sharing or publication of data?

In research, you do not always work on your own. In such cases, you must be aware that co-researchers, your employer, the project initiator, your research sponsor or contractual partners in the private sector may have rights to your data. The contractual situation defines who has to be involved in decisions on the sharing or publication of data.

Do I have control over the further use of my data by third parties?

Many aspects of use, such as the form and manner of use, can only be regulated by means of relevant contracts. The use of standardised licences such as Creative Commons or Open Data Commons is suitable for this purpose.

Which licences are there and which should I use?

Before selecting a license, the following should be considered:

• Is the data to be licensed protectable at all?
• Is the use of a specific license mandatory, or is there a recommendation, e.g., from the research funding agency?

There are various license models to choose from. In its guidelines for handling research data, the UDE refers to the use of open licenses. Creative Commons licenses are well suited for this purpose, as they are the most widely used and therefore easy to use.

Creative Commons licenses are suitable for most types of research data. Software is an exception. Specific software licenses are more suitable for this, e.g., the GNU General Public License (GPL). An overview of software licenses can be found here. The Public License Selector helps you choose a suitable software license.

What must be taken into consideration with regard to employment contracts?

Employment contracts should include clauses stating that the contracting parties grant their future employer at least basic rights of use of the data generated as part of their research activities. The rights and types of use must be explicitly specified in this context.