Research data management is the organization, management, storage, publication and preservation of research data. These may include: field observations, specimens or other materials collected, survey responses, physiological or machine-generated data, computer software, simulation models, imagery, or metadata.
Research Data Management Office
As part of RTO, the Research Data Management Office continuously develops new services and partnerships to offer a broader range of support for the research community.
This office provides research data management services and technology solutions for ASU research projects. We can assist with the preparation of data management plans, consult on data storage and management, and assist with curating data for sharing. The office also communicates with other units and provides support for the Research Data Selector tool.
Knowledge Enterprise and ASU Library partnership
The Research Data Management Office leads a partnership between ASU Knowledge Enterprise and the ASU Library beyond the services offered jointly. This partnership is based on a strong commitment to open science and scholarship. The partnership creates a shared strategy to support open science and scholarship and position ASU as an innovative leader in these practices.
The partnership team shares strategies through attendance at open science and scholarship conferences. It advocates on behalf of researchers at the national level, for example, by submitting public comments on draft policies. ASU is also a pilot institution for enhancing the DMP Tool for machine-actionable Data Management and Sharing Plans.
Research data lifecycle
To help conceptualize all the tasks and technology involved in research data management, it is helpful to think about a research data lifecycle: conception, creation, management, storage, sharing and publishing.
Planning for data management and sharing
Data generation, acquisition and access
Data processing, analysis and storage
Data sharing, publishing and preservation
Planning for data management and sharing
Create a quality Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP) that reflects how data will be managed and published. Developing data workflows is important for all types of research. Many funding agencies now require a DMSP in the proposal with the following standard sections:
- Types of data produced
- Data and metadata standards
- Policies for access and sharing
- Policies for re-use, redistribution and derivatives
- Plans for archiving, preservation and access
It is important to include necessary storage and technology solutions so that the proposed budget accounts for them.
Learn about the 2023 NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy.
Try the ASU DMSP AI Tool to evaluate your draft against NSF criteria.
Data generation, acquisition and access
During this stage, researchers generate raw data through experiments and computations. They may also collect research data produced by outside organizations. RTO provides services to assist with data capture and finding external datasets.
Data processing, analysis and storage
This stage concerns processing generated or externally acquired raw data, typically using software. With this processed research data, researchers can make observations and conclusions.
This stage also includes storing and managing the data while it’s being used. ASU has a range of storage solutions available to research personnel. All data should be stored in a secure, resilient manner.
Try the Research Data Selector Tool to review all the research data solutions available through ASU and identify the most appropriate option for your needs.
Data sharing, publishing and preservation
Sharing data increases its use by encouraging transparency, informing the larger scientific community and allowing others to reproduce results.
The FAIR Guiding Principles were published to improve the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reuse of digital assets. These guidelines are important to follow when sharing research data products.
Publishing is a more deliberate act of preparing a data set for transparency and public accessibility. More journals and funding agencies are expecting researchers to publish research data alongside the publication of articles, where applicable. More funders also expect shareable data to be published within a reasonable time after the research concludes, even if there is not a corresponding article.
Preservation is about determining what data is suitable for sharing, what data needs to be kept for records and how long it should be kept. For example, the NIH requires all grant data to be retained for 3 years.
ASU Honest Broker
RTO has partnered with organizations to provide access to sources of data provided to researchers upon approval. The ASU Honest Broker service utilizes the KE Secure Cloud for the Arizona Department of Health Services. These datasets are available by request and upon approval by ADHS for ASU and NAU research projects.
KE Secure Cloud is also an authorized environment for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.
The ADHS health datasets include:
- Arizona births and deaths
- Hospital discharge data
- Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
- Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
- Medical Electronic Disease Surveillance System
- Arizona State Immunization Information System
- Arizona Hospital Syndromic Surveillance
Requesting ADHS health data
1.
Before submitting a request for ADHS health data, please do the following:
- Ensure you have completed the IRB process and your proposed study is approved or exempted.
- Fill out the required ADHS Human Subjects Review Board new project submission form.
- Fill out the required ADHS Human Subjects Review Board confidentiality statement form.
2.
Time to fill out the Honest Broker ADHS health data request form!
Fill out the Honest Broker ADHS health data request form. You can attach PDFs of all required forms and relevant documentation to the Honest Broker form.
You will need the following information to complete the form:
- Study title (as per submitted to IRB)
- Type of study
- Level of identification required
- IRB approved protocol or exemption letter
- Data source requested
- Time period required
- Inclusion/exclusion criteria
- Copies of any survey and consent forms
3.
Once submitted, the Honest Broker team will review your request and contact you to proceed to the next steps. When all documentation is complete, they will forward a request packet (including all required documents) to ADHS on your behalf.
The ADHS Human Subjects Review Board will review the request. Please note that completion of ASU approvals does not guarantee ADHS approval.
Once approved by the ADHS Human Subjects Review Board, Honest Broker will supply you with the data.
Not sure what you need?
Fill out our general request help form for a consultation with a research facilitator.