An important component of Research Data Management is performing a data inventory, a brainstorm of all the data that you will collect. Consider the following factors about your data:
What is it? | What does it consist of? |
●Title | ●How many files |
●Author | ●Where are they stored |
●Description | ●File size |
●Date created | ●Are there multiple versions |
Who Owns it? | Who can access it? |
●Department Owner | ● Restrictions in place |
●Author | ● Users who have access |
●Contact (Responsibility) | ● Protocol for handling requests |
How Secure is it? | Why is the data useful? |
● Uniqueness | • Publications that use the data |
● Protections in place | |
● Back-up locations (2 or more) | |
● Procedure for format migration | |
● Retention period |
Data Corruption. Theft. Equipment failure, Lost Files. It'll never happen to you, right?
Regardless of how careful you are with your data files, data failure can be catastrophic setback to your research process, resulting in lost time, funding and huge amounts of frustration. Consider a back up strategy for your data:
Here are some common locations and options that you can use for your data -
LOCAL |
Network/ITSS |
CLOUD |
---|---|---|
Hard drive |
Block Storage |
Google Docs |
Dept/local server |
Active Directory |
Amazon |
Flash Drive |
DropBox |
|
Portable Drive/Backup |
The above resources are great solutions for raw data without personal data attached to it. When you use Personal Data as part of your data, you'll need to take precautions to secure that information.
Each resource has its benefits and drawbacks.
More options can be found a UMD Network Data Storage.