Research data management policies in USA, UK and Australia universities: An online survey

Abstract

There has been an increase in demand for research data management (RDM) policies to improve the quality of research data however, there is no clear-cut policy content to guide the process. The purpose of this study is to identify the existing RDM policies. Specifically, the study compares and differentiates the RDM policies in three developed nations (USA, UK and Australia) to ascertain how the policies vary. The RDM policies of 100 universities from the three countries, that are present online were retrieved and content analysis approach using NVivo and SPSS were performed. The results from the analysis revealed that the common underlying facts of the policies were found in the areas of access, retention, sharing, storage and ownership. All the universities share the same core values in the management of their research. They exhibit that Data Management Plan (DMP) is essential. The study concluded that the differences in the data management are mostly issues of focus areas. More so, there is no fixed retention period for research data. To resolve the few differences identified, common criteria for data management is proposed for policy considerations to ensure compliance. Finding from the study is significant to developing countries as it adds to the discourse on data management policies. The study will also enable policy makers in developing countries to draw empirical evidence from the developed world on RDM and this will form a basis for policy direction.

The Impact of Key Stakeholders and the Computer Skills of Librarians on Research Data Management Support Services (Id so-21-1893.r2)

“…So, the questions are related to their roles and support services in RDM. Previous finding in Liu et al (2020), Research data management policies in USA, UK and Australia universities has demonstrated the areas of focus of research data management policies and the stakeholders' roles and its intended benefit. Therefore, the researchers' work was measured with RDM support received, and their roles in RDM such as data sharing and access and DMP data and data analysis.…”

“…According to Liu et al (2020), in the USA, UK, and Australia, data sharing, data management plan, access, and retention are critical requirements from funders as conditions to access research grants. The authors found that there is no difference in these countries regarding RDM.…”

Research data management competencies of researchers in selected public universities in South Africa

“…RDM development strategies such as RDM policies, infrastructure, resources and capacity-building programmes are truly required in a university to effectively manage data for a better understanding of its lifecycle, availability, accessibility, security, use and re-use. Unfortunately, Liu et al . (2020, p. 21) observed RDM policies as still in their initial stages in many countries, and most universities have either full or partial solutions in place.…”

Research data management systems and the organization of universities and research institutes: A systematic literature review

“…Policies should serve the needs of the different research disciplines. Moreover, they should be open enough to respond to technical or discipline changes as well as to ensure research freedom (Liu et al, 2020;Schmidt and Dierkes, 2015). Data policies of journals or funders will influence the data handling of the researchers and need to be considered in the development process of an institutional policy Higman and Pinfield, 2015).…”