Why manage research data and software?

There are four important reasons for researchers to manage their research data and software. These are:

• Maintain and improve the quality of science:

A well managed research data ensures that the scientific knowledge produced in ENTEG is preserved and documented such that it can be easily accessed, found, reproduced, verified and monitored by its members, scientific community and the university, thus enabling ENTEG to maintain and improve the quality of science.

• Increase scientific impact of ENTEG’s researchers

A well managed research data and software mean that it is visible to the outside world via easily accessible journals, repositories, databases and code repositories. Well documented and visible research output such as measurements results, models, plots, tables, images, codes and software increase the impact and the relevance of the science produced in ENTEG, hence the acknowledgement of the scientist.

• Meet funding requirements

Many funding agencies require researchers to show that they have a research data management ensuring a well planned data storage, archival and sharing plan which complies with the Open Science and FAIR principles as part of a grant proposal.

• Save time

Planning ahead of a research project will save the researcher’s time and resources. Having a strategy for managing research data saves a supervisor’s time in a research group to preserve the research history, monitor the progress and transfer knowledge to the new members. A new member such as a MSc or a Phd student or a Postdoctoral fellow, will navigate easier and faster during their first months by following a well planned and documented data management strategy.