Are you RCUK-funded, or do you hope to be?

If some or all of your funding comes from an RCUK council such as EPSRC, there are certain expectations that you need to comply with. We’ve made a handy postcard summarising the requirements (click the small image to see the pdf); pick up a copy from our Research Data Manager at events or when she’s out and about in a building near you (see the RDM roving schedule).

Here’s some detail on the main RDM requirements, and how we can help:

1. All projects should use a data management plan (DMP). Apart from EPSRC calls, a DMP needs to be submitted with your proposal, but EPSRC do expect a DMP to be in place for awarded projects. We have templates and will help you write/review it.
2. The data underpinning any articles must be stored securely for long-term preservation (for EPSRC data, this means 10 years since it was last accessed). If there isn’t a suitable subject repository for your data, you can upload it to CORD, our institutional data repository.
3. All publications must include a short statement describing how the underlying data may be accessed. If there is a record about your data on CORD, the access statement simply points readers there, eg “Data underlying this study can be accessed through the Cranfield University repository at http://dx.doi.org/10….”, or you can cite the dataset in your references list. See our data access statements intranet page for full examples.
4. If any data cannot be made publicly accessible, the paper’s statement, and the record on CORD, must indicate why, and the conditions of access. You can make data files confidential or embargoed on CORD and enter a reason to explain why, and how access might be granted. RCUK councils expect data to be open by default, but restrictions are fine where they are clearly justified (and usually laid out in your DMP).

None of this should be too onerous and support is in place – Cranfield University has a dedicated Research Data Manager to help you plan these aspects of your project so they are not too time-consuming or problematic. Get in touch for assistance or advice at researchdata@cranfield.ac.uk.