Research Data Management

Already at the application stage or at the latest at the beginning of a new project, it should be planned more precisely what should happen to the data generated in the project.

Some sponsors have special requirements, e.g. the creation of a data management plan. But even if a data management plan is not explicitly required, the creation of a data management plan is helpful to work with the research data in a structured, well documented and organized way.

• PDF: EU Guidelines on FAIR Data Management in Horizon 2020 [offsite]
• PDF: EU Guidelines to the Rules on Open Access to Scientific Publications and Open Access to Research Data in Horizon 2020 [offsite]
• DFG Guidelines for Dealing with Research Data [German, offsite]

Data management plan

A data management plan contains information on how the data is gathered and documented, where the data is stored and who has access to it. In addition, it records how the data can be shared and what should happen to the data created in the project after the end of the project.

The data management plan is created at the beginning of a project and regularly updated.

Examples of data management plans and creation tools:

• Sample data management plans of HU Berlin [German, offsite]
• international examples of data management plans [offsite]
• Tool: Research Data Management Organizer [German, offsite]

Would you like to create a data management plan and need advice? Please contact us.

How do I store my research data?

At the HTW Dresden there are several ways to save your project data.

The easiest way is to use your personal network drive. As soon as more than one person is involved, however, group drives are suitable for the projects. Using a VPN connection, you can also access your network drives from outside the HTW.

In case something goes wrong: The network drives are automatically backed up every 2 hours by creating so-called "snapshots". 

OwnCloud, a cloud service for collaborative work with external partners, is available to employees and students of the Faculty of Computer Science/Mathematics. Employees of other faculties and departments of the HTWD can also access the laboratory area of the Faculty of Computer Science/Mathematics on request.

• Information from the data center: Access to your own network drive
• Information from the data center: VPN
• OwnCloud of the Faculty of Computer Science/Mathematics

Regardless of the storage systems used, the data should be structured, organised, documented and regularly backed up.

If possible, research data as a raw material for research should also be made available to other researchers. This increases the publicity of the results, ensures an open knowledge culture and efficient scientific work. For the publication and archiving of the data, (online) repositories are recommended. To select a suitable repository, you can use our Repository Recommender or search for repositories in the Registry of Research Data Repositories (Re3Data).

The Open Access Repository and Archive "OpARA" is a service provided by HTWD that allows you to publish and/or archive your research data across disciplines. Members of HTWD have access to this institutional repository via your HTW login at https://opara.zih.tu-dresden.de/xmlui/login.

Do you need support in choosing a repository? Feel free to ask us.

Long-term archiving

A retention period of at least 10 years corresponds to good scientific practice, so that the resulting data is also available and usable in the long term. Further special guidelines for storage may be determined by the project executing agencies or by separate contractual conditions.

Repositories can be used as an infrastructure for archiving, since access to certain data can also be set to non-public. At this point, members of the HTW Dresden are especially recommended to use OpARA to archive research data.

In the case of long-term archiving, the questions of which data all should be archived and which sustainable data formats (and data carriers can be used when deciding on an archiving solution of one's own) are particularly decisive. In addition, metadata should be assigned and the data documented.

Further information on archiving can be found in our recommendation for action (German).