Data Management Resources for UNLV: Best Practices

The decision to share all or part of research data is an important one and there are several considerations for researchers to analyze. A few of these considerations are listed below.

• Does the grant funding agency require, encourage, or prohibit sharing of the data?
• Does the publisher require a copy of the data with manuscript submission for peer-review?
• Who are the owners of the data?
• Are there research subject confidentiality or other security concerns to address? 
• Will the data be shared publically, or only with researchers or individuals who can demonstrate that they are properly credentialed? 
• Will all or only a portion of the data be shared?
• Will the data be shared immediately or after a period of time has elapsed (embargo period)? 

Resources to assist you with these and other data sharing decisions are provided below.

• Data Sharing Considerations

  The University of Arizona Libraries have summarized several key considerations when determining whether or not to share your research data.
• Responsible Collection, Retention, Sharing, and Interpretation of Data

  Caroline Whitbeck of the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Research provides a helpful document with a variety of resources about data sharing, storage and interpretation for the engineering field.

From the Digital Curation Centre (DCC), this lifecycle model provides a graphical, high-level overview of the stages required for successful curation and preservation of data from initial conceptualisation or receipt through the iterative curation cycle.