Plan and collect

On this page

• Requirements from publishers, journals and funders
• Data management costs
• Personal data
• Ethical review
• Ownership, copyright and agreements
• Find data in repositories
• Software and tools for data collection
• Data management plan

Considering data management and its organisation from the outset can save a lot of time and streamline the research process. You can do this in a structured way by using a data management plan. You may have requirements from funders or others to consider and may also need to think about, for example, costs that may be incurred, ethical aspects and whether your data contains personal data. 

Requirements from publishers, journals and funders

Many scientific journals and publishers recommend or require that the research data underlying a publication be made freely available. Some publishers and journals also have specific requirements regarding which database(s) they want you to use to make data available.  

Requirements from funders

The demand for open and organised research data from funders is increasing. Funders increasingly expect not only open data, where possible, but also a plan of how you will work with your research data throughout your project. If you are unsure about what applies to your project, check any conditions that came with your grant or contact your research funder.  

Data management costs 

Data management entails various costs. It is good to be aware of these costs from the start and allocate resources for them within the project.

Examples of things that can incur costs

• Ethical review  
• Staff specifically for data management (data manager, research engineer)    
• Work efforts (e.g. describing, organising, cleansing and anonymising data)  
• Software (cost of purchase or licences)    
• Storage space for large volumes of data (costs for additional storage space)  
• Secure storage of personal and sensitive data (server location, safe)  
• Costs of sharing data via a database (some databases charge a fee)  
• Costs of building your own database or website for your data (including costs for maintenance after the end of the project)

Personal data

When the data collected includes personal data, it needs to be handled in a specific way, according to several different regulatory frameworks. There are many aspects to the management of personal data and this should be borne in mind during the project. A few points to remember:  

• Store material containing personal data securely  
• Report all processing of personal data to PULU – Personal data Lund University  
• Inform data subjects about how Lund University processes personal data   

Each faculty has a data protection officer who can help you with questions about personal data, contact your data steward for guidance.  

Processing personal data in research

Store and organise

Ethical review  

If your research involves humans, personal data or animal testing, you may need to request ethical review. More information on when and how to apply for an ethical review can be found on Lund University's ethical review page and on the Swedish Ethical Review Authority's website.  Please note that there is a cost associated with applying for an ethical review and that it may be some time before you receive a decision. Most research funders will cover this cost if it has been included in the budget.

Ethical review

The process of ethical reviews (In swedish, etikprovningsmyndigheten.se)

Ownership, copyright and agreements

Lund University is a public authority, and the documents produced during research therefore belong to the University. This includes research data. If you leave the University, you may not take your research data with you. You do, however, own the intellectual property rights to your research results and are free to take this information with you. You may not, however, take the original documents themselves (analogue or digital) with you.

When collaborating with other higher education institutions or stakeholders, it is important to draw up agreements to establish such things as the nature of the collaboration, who is responsible for personal data and who has ownership of the research data produced. It is important that it is clear who has responsibility for the data from collection to archiving.  

If you are involved in an assignment or collaboration with an external party, it is also important that all agreements are in place before you start collecting data and working with it.    

Agreements

Find data in repositories

There is a lot of openly available data that you can download yourself, for example from repositories, journals or public authorities. When using other people's data, it should be cited with details such as the copyright holder and where the data is stored, using a DOI or other persistent identifier.  

Share and make accessible

Software and tools for data collection 

As a researcher, you may need many different kinds of software and tools for your data collection. The University has common licences for a number of these; you can find information about those currently available via the Division of IT’s website. There are also many kinds of software and tools available at each faculty, where researchers can also find guidance. 

Available softwares and tools on the Division of IT's website (In Swedish)

Data management plan

Planning data management in a structured way in a data management plan will help you as a researcher to review relevant laws and guidelines, identify needs and problems, and facilitate organisation and documentation. The data management plan is a living document, which should be updated during the project to keep it current and relevant for you and any colleagues.  

Create a data management plan