C. Data Management, Ethics and Law

Last modified by Salla-M Laaksonen on 2024/11/15 11:09

Research data management refers to the ways in which how research data is managed during as well as after the active phase of the research project. Therefore it concerns all empirical research regardless of the data type. Data management includes the technical solutions to store and analyze the data, but also covers the legal and ethical considerations regarding using that particular data.

Data management sounds technical, but essentially it is an important part of research integrity, and discussing these matters together with the entire research group ensures that data and also the persons who have trusted researchers with that data are handled with care – legally and ethically.

➡ Helsinki Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities has published very useful Research Data Management handbooks for five different types of data, including social media data and audiovisual data. The handbooks are currently available in Finnish only, but English versions are on their way in fall 2024.

Some funding schemes requires the project to provide a Data Management Plan (DMP, see e.g. guidelines by the Academy of Finland).

  • Data storage services are offered by universities (ask you own IT department or library) and in Finland also by CSC
  • use the DMPTuuli tool to draft a data management plan