Data Management & Security

The Research Data Service Department has developed a self-enrollment and self-paced pilot Canvas module: RDM Basics at TXST for the TXST research community. It has information about basic research data management skills, best practices, and the tools the University Libraries provide to facilitate the researcher's project and grant application, such as the Dataverse Research Data Repository and DMPTool. 

 People can always access the RDM module for their use at RDM Basics at TXST.

A data management plan (DMP) describes the data a PI expects to acquire and how it will be managed.  Texas State University has an institutional affiliation with DMPTool.org to aid in the development of a DMP.  Access the tool with your Texas State institutional credentials. 

In general, a data-sharing narrative should address the following:

• Overview:  Provide a short project summary and the data collected.
• Types of data to be produced by the research:  What data is being collected?  What is the data classification?  What platform is used to collect it?  From where is the data originating? 
• Data format and metadata standards:  How will the data be collected?  How will it be analyzed?  What software or equipment is necessary?  What is the data format (.xls, etc.)?
• Provisions for access and sharing of data:  Where will the data be stored?  Who will have access to it?  How will confidentiality be maintained?
• How data may be reused or redistributed:  What, how, and when is the data being shared?
• Data archiving and preservation: How long is the data being retained?  Will the data be retained in a repository? https://dataverse.tdl.org/dataverse/txst; https://ldbase.org/
• Transition or termination of the data collection in the long-term future:  How will electronic and paper copies be destroyed at the project termination?
• Budgeting for the above:  What costs are involved with the data management and sharing?