Integrated sessions : Read this: Core principles of Research Data Management
Read this: Core principles of Research Data Management
This page provides an overview of the core principles of Research Data Management. It will be helpful for you to consider, no matter the stage of your research project. Generally speaking, however, the earlier you reflect on data management and how you will manage this, the easier it will be to manage your project.
What am I trying to achieve?
Good data management practices are essential in research, to make sure that research data are of high quality, are well organised, documented, preserved and accessible and their validity controlled at all times.
Well-managed data are easily shared and can thus be used for new research or to duplicate and validate existing research.
Research Data Management (RDM) needs to be planned early in a project (or beforehand), so that practices can be implemented throughout the research cycle.
This text and graphic has been adapted from the UK Data Service's training materials for 'Preparing and Managing Data'. The UK Data Service is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to meet the data needs of researchers, students and teachers from all sectors.
See also: A Guide to Research Data Management (2021), from the British Library - a concise overview of core principles for beginners, with key terms explained in plain English.
What counts as 'data'?
RDM is not just for scientists! Research 'data' (or 'material') comes in many forms. For instance:
| Diaries | Audio recordings and transcripts | Lab/field notebooks |
| Search histories | Photographs and videos | Source code |
| Bibliographies | Survey responses | Specimens and samples |
| Quotations | Test results | Models |
University of Hull Policy
Version 2 of the University's Research Data Management and Sharing Policy was approved by the Concordats Steering Group in October 2023, applying to all research carried out at the University of Hull. The policy has been adopted "to establish principles for effective management of the research data generated within the University, and its dissemination", informed by FAIR Guiding Principles, UKRI's own policy and the University's Concordat on Open Research Data.
Some points to note:
- The policy applies to research carried out by staff and students, in all disciplines, independent of any funder expectations.
- All research projects should have a data management plan, stored with other project documentation.
- Ethical approval for projects making use of personal/sensitive data must consider management of the data.
- Research data stored on University systems should not be retained for longer than 7 years without a review.
- Completed datasets should be catalogued on the University's Research Information System (currently Worktribe).
- Research data (including software) should be shared openly whenever possible, by depositing it in the University's Repository or an external service.
- On leaving the University, researchers must ensure that the University retains access to (a copy of) their data.
University of Hull researchers should also familiarise themselves with the University's Concordat on Open Research Data (2023), and institutional policies on Data Protection, Information Handling and IT Usage, which can be found in the University's Policies Directory.
Completion of the University's Cyber Security and Data Protection online modules (accessed through Workday) is mandatory for all University of Hull staff.
Further reading about principles and good practice when managing sensitive data.
Sharepoint also provides information about the University's policies in support of Research Integrity, and process for Ethics Approvals:
Selected funders' policies for research data management and sharing
14 Oct 2026: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has today published its new research data policy. It will apply to new funding opportunities published on or after 1 April 2027.
The policy will apply to all research funded by the research councils, UKRI-wide schemes and some activities funded by Innovate UK and Research England. It replaces multiple policies and principles with a single, updated policy framework.
Responsibly sharing data, following practices that enable it to be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (the FAIR principles), supports:
- research transparency, verification and reproducibility
- research that is more collaborative, efficient and sustainable
- opportunities for new research and innovation.
Selected key points:
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UKRI's definition of "research data" explicitly includes image, sound and video files, transcripts, algorithms, code, models and software.
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UKRI applicants will normally be required to provide an outline of how they plan to manage and share their research data, in line with this policy. For some data-intensive funding opportunities, a full data management plan may be required and assessed.
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A full project data management plan that builds on the outline provided at application must be in place within six months of the start of the award (including studentships).
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Where research data will be collected from human research participants, or licensed from another organisation, consent to share data in line with this policy should be sought, although it is recognised that rights may not always be granted.
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Funding applications should include expected costs for managing and sharing research data. To support this, researchers should engage with any relevant domain, institutional or third-party data repositories and services or data providers as early as possible.
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Research data necessary to understand and validate published findings, and/or with potential long-term reuse value for research and innovation, must be shared as early as possible, in formats that enable easy reuse, with as few restrictions on access and reuse as possible (a CC-0 or CC-BY licence is encouraged).
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Preserved data must be assigned a unique and persistent identifier, such as a DOI. Adequate descriptive metadata and supporting documentation must be provided to enable others to understand, validate and reuse the data. University of Hull researchers can achieve this by depositing their data in Worktribe, or creating a Worktribe output record which signposts the location of their data in a trusted external repository.
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Research publications must include a data access statement, enabling others to understand how to access the underlying data, and citing the persistent identifier. This could include linking to a metadata record (such as a Worktribe Repository record) that provides this information.
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A limited and defined period of exclusive data use is reasonable according to the nature and value of the data. Any anticipated period of exclusive use must be described and justified in the funding application and data management plan.
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Ethical justifications for a more restricted approach to sharing may apply to data about people and other forms of data, such as data identifying the location of a protected species, or research with dual use potential. Restricted data may need an End User Licence Agreement or data sharing agreement, instead of an open licence.
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UKRI has published new guidance (Oct 2026) on Sharing data about people as a research output.
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Access to data may be restricted for commercial reasons, when provided by a commercial partner, or to allow intellectual property to be protected for the purposes of commercialising research. Restrictions must be minimized and justified.
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Data which underpins published findings should normally be retained for a minimum of 10 years after publication.
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Provided that an appropriate and documented decision-making process has been followed, justified disposal of data is permitted. Metadata records referring to deleted datasets should be retained and explain the data has been deleted and why.
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UKRI will monitor the implementation of this policy to assess compliance of research organisations and to evaluate policy effectiveness and impact. Sanctions for non-compliance are set out in our grant terms and conditions.
Special conditions for economic and social science data, and environmental science data, are outlined in the sections of this guide for ESRC and NERC award-holders.
British Heart Foundation Publication and Dissemination Policy (2024)
All research articles must include a Data Access Statement. This applies even where no data are associated with the article or where data are not accessible.
Where an appropriate public repository exists, it is expected that data or materials will be submitted to the appropriate repository and the relevant accession identifier (ID) or digital object identifier (DOI) included in the publication. Where code or software is used, a Software Availability Statement should also be included.
University of Hull researchers can achieve this by either a) depositing their dataset in Worktribe (any file can be publicly-available or restricted), or b) depositing their dataset in a trusted external repository and creating a Worktribe output record for the location. When the Worktribe record is made discoverable in the University of Hull's research repository, it will have a citeable url.
All uses of BHF Data Science Centre-developed code, tools, or resources should be cited in a Data Access Statement and/or Software Availability Statement. At a minimum, this should include: the name of the documentation, tool, or resource; acknowledgement of the BHF Data Science Centre; the URL.
CRUK Data Sharing and Management Policy (Feb 2025):
"Data should be made available as widely and freely as possible to maximise public benefit, ensuring compliance with any applicable ethical requirements and while safeguarding the privacy of research participants, through following UK GDPR and relevant local rules and regulations.
CRUK requires grant applicants to provide a data management and sharing plan as part of their application which aligns with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) data principles and our Research Data Strategy.
Read the full policy for more detail on:
- Patient consent forms
- Reporting datasets as study outcomes
- Data curation standards
- Data release schedule
- Data access statements
- Acknowledging data in line with Use MY Data standards.
Oct 2026: Annex 3 of the new UKRI Research Data Policy sets out additional expectations applying to social science data arising from any UKRI-funded research:
ESRC funds UK Data Service to support the deposit, dissemination and preservation of economic, population and social research data collections to maximise their discovery, value and impact.
Further to the UKRI research data policy requirement for research data to be deposited in an appropriate repository, the following requirements apply:
- social science data from ESRC-funded research must be offered for deposit in UK Data Service by the end of the grant period
- we encourage social science data arising from other UKRI-funded research to be offered for deposit in UK Data Service
- if data is deposited in an alternative repository to UK Data Service, a metadata record must still be submitted to UK Data Service to support discoverability of social science data
UKRI recognises that some data and metadata could be subject to restrictions that mean it may not be offered for deposit in UK Data Service. The UKRI research data policy’s requirements for managing restricted data still apply.
Costs associated with preparing data for deposit, including anonymisation, documentation, metadata creation and administrative time for submission and responding to repository feedback or revisions, need to be planned for and included in grant budgets.
The European Commission's Open Research Europe platform is "an open access publishing platform for the publication of research stemming from Horizon 2020 funding across all subject areas. The platform makes it easy for Horizon 2020 beneficiaries to comply with the open access terms of their funding and offers researchers a publishing venue to share their results and insights rapidly and facilitate open, constructive research discussion".
Although ORE does not currently operate as a data repository, researchers are encouraged to submit a Data Note: a dataset description including "rationale, protocol, validation and limitation details" and a data availability statement, to facilitate citation. ORE's Data Guidelines provide practical advice about preparing your data for deposit, a helpful list of 'approved' repositories for a range of disciplines and data types, and a guide to Data Sharing Made Simple.
Horizon-funded researchers also benefit from the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), providing services and tools for research data registration, annotation and discovery.
Getting to know EOSC and the PATH2EOSC UK project (June 2026): webinar recording and slide deck, from the UK Digital Curation Centre.
Researchers awarded funding under the new Horizon Europe programme will be required to deliver a data management plan within 6 months of the project start date, informed by FAIR principles and a commitment to preserve data "as open as possible; as closed as necessary".
Oct 2026: Annex 4 of the new UKRI Research Data Policy sets out additional expectations applying to environmental science data arising from any UKRI-funded research:
NERC funds the Environmental Data Service (EDS) to provide data stewardship services to ensure that environmental science data is made available, accessible and reusable for the long-term. Contact the Environmental Data Service.
Further to the UKRI research data policy requirement for research data to be shared using an appropriate repository, the following requirements apply where research is funded by NERC:
- environmental data of long term value must be offered to EDS for secure long term management and dissemination
- in agreement with EDS, where environmental data is not suitable for deposit within EDS, researchers will be referred to other appropriate, approved repositories where the environmental data must be deposited
- if data is deposited in another repository, a metadata record must be submitted to EDS to ensure NERC-funded data is discoverable.
Costs associated with preparing data for archiving, including documentation, metadata creation and administrative time for submission and responding to EDS feedback or revisions, should be budgeted for in your grant. EDS can provide costing guidance and information.
NIHR Position on the Sharing of Research Data (2021):
Researchers are required to...
- Provide a data management and access plan for all appropriate funded studies. To minimise researcher burden, these are completed during the startup of the research and will be made available on the NIHR Funding and Awards website.
- Include a Data Sharing Statement when publishing the findings of the research, describing how to access the underpinning research data.
- Protect the confidentiality and privacy of individuals; respect the terms of consent by individuals who are involved in research; be consistent with relevant legal, ethical and regulatory frameworks; and guard against unreasonable costs.
See NIHR's How to Publish guidelines for a step-by-step practical guide to preparing data for sharing, selecting a repository and adding a data availability statement to an article.
Search the Jisc Open Policy Finder by funder name for an outline of their policy on open data, plus links to their guidance for researchers.
A registry of UK Funders' Data Policies and DMP Requirements is maintained by the UK Digital Curation Centre.
FAIRsharing.org: supported by the University of Oxford, a registry of data preservation, management and sharing policies from international funding agencies, regulators, journals, and other organisations.
Publisher Data Availability Policies Index, maintained by the international Open Research metadata platform CHORUS.
Key contacts at the University of Hull
Planning for the preservation and dissemination of your data in line with research funder/publisher terms:
- rdm@hull.ac.uk (Kirstyn Radford, Research Outputs Specialist, Brynmor Jones Library)
Data protection, research integrity and ethics (Sharepoint sites for University of Hull researchers):
- Information Compliance - Data Protection Officer
- Research Excellence and Governance
- Your Faculty Ethics Committee can advise on any data protection issues identified during the process of gaining approval for a new project.
Data ownership, licensing and knowledge exchange:
- Research Commercialisation and IP
- Research and Knowledge Exchange Contracts Support Team
- Trusted Research checklist for University of Hull research staff working with partners overseas or in industry
- Knowledge Exchange Hub for University of Hull staff
- Hubble Portal: Knowledge Exchange for Students
Data handling, including secure file storage, software installation and use of the University's High Performance Computer (VIPER) for processing high volumes of research data with low levels of sensitivity:
- IT Services Support Hub (for staff)
- Hubble Portal: IT Services and University Systems (for students)
Hull Health Trials Unit provides specialist support for clinical research, including mediated access to NHS data, and services to facilitate storage and processing of sensitive data, such as the Data Safe Haven: