Research360: Data in the Research Lifecycle

The importance of data as a product of research is highlighted by funding council mandates that research data must, as far as possible, be accessible for re-use. The University of Bath recognises that data is a valuable asset and is investing in supporting data management at the institution. To do this, with JISC’s support, the Research360 project is developing the mechanisms that will enable data management to be incorporated throughout the research lifecycle. Critical to the success of this is the involvement of stakeholders from across the institution, including computing services, librarians and research support. We are providing support to researchers submitting data management plans with their applications for funding. We are also starting to incorporate data as an output of research and are investigating how re-use of data by third parties could be considered when impacts of research are measured. To do so requires that data should be citable and that shared data should be linked with research inputs and research publications. To achieve this, data must be incorporated into research information management, thereby completing the research lifecycle.