library/managing research data/

Organising and Storing Data

Managing Research Data

Metadata – The data about your data

Metadata is data that describes data. You may not have known what it was called, but you’ve already worked with different types of metadata.

  • Descriptive metadata describes what things are, e.g. your folder and file names, and the author assigned keywords the journal articles you write.
  • Administrative metadata, as the name suggests, describes things related to managing your data, e.g. file formats, licences, and copyright information.
  • Structural metadata describes the relationships between the components of your data or documents, e.g. tables of contents and indexes.

Your research data will need to be described and documented using metadata so that:

  • You can manage it during your research.
  • You can publish your data in way that others can find it.
  • Your data can be properly archived and preserved after your research project is concluded.

Your Data Management Plan in Data Manager is the primary location for storing the majority of the metadata needed for your research data. 

Certain disciplines will also have specialised metadata schemas that are optimised for these subject areas. Check out the list provided by Digital Curation Centre of various metadata standards.

For more information about metadata specifically in relation to research data, please review ARDC's Metadata Guide.

Best practice for naming files

It is important for file names to be consistent so you can easily locate and use your files.

This is a short list of best practice guidelines.

  • Keep your file structure as simple as possible. It keeps the file paths short and makes it easier for you to find everything.
  • Make file and folder names as concise as possible without losing meaning.
  • Avoid spaces in file names – Use camel case, hyphens or underscores instead.
  • Write dates in reverse order YYYYMMDD so that you can sort by date, e.g. Minutes_20201207.docx, Minutes_202100104.docx, …
  • Put format and version information at the end of file names so that different versions of the same document stay together when sorted by name, e.g. LiteratureReview_Draft.docx and LiteratureReview_Final.docx
  • Avoid repeating folder names in file names because it makes the file path unnecessarily long and can cause issues with software such as Word and EndNote.

What format is best for your research data?

The format you choose to store your research data in will have long term impacts on its future usability. If your data is in a proprietary file format, that is a format that requires specific software to use, it will potentially limit its long-term future value. 

Check out the Recommended formats from the UK Data Service for open formats for different types of data. 

Data storage

Dedicated university storage

For CQUniversity research it is mandatory to store a master copy of your data in your Dedicated University Data storage location. You will be allocated one of these the first time you save your Data Management Plan. For details on how to create a plan please visit the Using Data Manager page.

Data storage requirements need to be managed across the complete data lifecycle as storage needs will differ at various stages of the research project including:

  • during active data collection/generation phase
  • for data analysis
  • on project completion
  • when data is published or deposited
  • for data reuse

For further information about the dedicated university data storage, including how to access the share please check the CQUniversity eResearch Page. 

What happens to my data once the project is completed?

Your research data needs to be managed even after you’ve completed your research. The university will do this in line with national guidelines for the retention and destruction of research data, as well as legal, ethical and funding requirements.

The retention period will vary based on a variety of factors in relation to the type of data that you have collected during your research. To ensure that your data is retained for the correct period make sure to complete the Data retention and disposal section of your DMP.

The Records Management Policy and Procedure, which covers research data can be obtained from the CQUniversity Policy portal.

These data storage requirements are in additional to any version of your data that you publish to our institutional repository aCQUIRe.