Guest post by Iona Preston, Research Data Support Officer.

Next week (February 12-16), we’re excited to be celebrating International Love Data Week. We’ll be looking at how data is shared and reused within our UCL and academic community, highlighting the support available across UCL for these initiatives. This year’s theme, “My Kind of Data,” focuses on data equity, inclusion, and disciplinary communities. We’ll be blogging and posting on X throughout the week, so please join us to learn more.

Here’s a sneak preview of what’s coming up:

• Did you know the Research Data Management team can review your data management plan and support you in publishing your data in our Research Data Repository? Find out more about our last year in review with Christiana McMahon, Research Data Support Officer.
• Have you met any members of our Data Stewards team? James Wilson, Head of Research Data Services, will be explaining how you can collaborate with them to streamline the process of managing and preserving your data, thereby supporting reproducibility and transparency in your research.
• Are you seeking tools to support best practices in data management for your specific discipline? We have some suggestions from Iona Preston, Research Data Support Officer.
• You may have heard of FAIR data – but what does that mean in practice? Join Research Data Steward Shipra Suman and Senior Research Data Steward Victor Olago as they discuss projects where they’ve supported making data FAIR.
• And, finally, to round off the week, Senior Research Data Steward Michelle Harricharan will talk about a project the Data Stewards are carrying out to better support UCL researchers in accessing and managing external datasets.

We look forward to engaging with you throughout the week and hope you enjoy learning more about research data at UCL.

And get involved!

The UCL Office for Open Science and Scholarship invites you to contribute to the open science and scholarship movement. Stay connected for updates, events, and opportunities. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, and join our mailing list to be part of the conversation!

Following our blog post last week, where we reflected on the achievements of 2023, this week we wanted to look forward and share our plans for 2024. From championing open research practices to fostering inclusivity, transparency, and collaboration, the UCL Office for Open Science Scholarship (OOSS) teams are gearing up for an exciting new year!

OOSS 2024 Initiatives:

Annual Conference: Anticipate the return of the UCL Open Science Conference after Easter, promising an exciting and engaging program. Stay tuned for details as we continue to drive conversations on open science, sustainability, and inclusivity in research practices.

Authorship Overview: Building on the success of the 2023 conference, OOSS is preparing to release an overview of best practices in authorship. The focus on equity in authorship during a dedicated workshop last year has further contributed to the development of a UCL statement on Authorship, showcasing our commitment to fostering fair and inclusive authorship practices.

UCL Open Research Train the Trainer Course: OOSS proudly supports the UCL Open Research Train the Trainer course, a key part of the UKRN Open Research Programme. This course aims to empower participants with the knowledge and skills needed to champion open research practices, contributing to the broader mission of advancing openness in academia and beyond.

Open Science Website Overhaul: Over the summer, the office has ambitious plans for an overhaul of the Open Science website. This initiative aims to enhance user experience and engagement. As part of this revamp, case studies from the community will be gathered, providing an opportunity for voices within UCL to contribute to the narrative of open science. Watch out this space!

Research Data Team:

Love Data Week 2024: In February 2024, the Research Data Team will celebrate Love Data Week, a dedicated time to showcase impactful data from the academic community underscoring the team’s commitment to recognising the value of open data practices and promoting its significance in research. Join us!

Training and Review Services: The Research Data Team is dedicated to enhancing accessibility in 2024. One of the key initiatives involves the redesign of online training for Writing Data Management Plan providing a more user-friendly experience for researchers to access resources and guidance efficiently. Additionally, throughout the year, the team will offer training sessions and review services on data management plans. This ongoing support ensures that researchers align with funders’ criteria and best practices, contributing to the overall improvement of data management within the UCL community.

Best Practice Guidance for Metadata Records: An important focus next year will be the development of best practice guidance for creating high-quality metadata records. These records play an essential role in enhancing the findability and reusability of research data. To facilitate this, the team is creating user-friendly video guides, making it easier for researchers to grasp the essentials of metadata creation and promoting adherence to best practices.

Citizen Science Team:

Community Building: The Citizen Science Team at OOSS is committed to community building in 2024. The focus is on expanding the UCL Citizen Science community, fostering connections among researchers and communities passionate about citizen science initiatives. A landmark initiative will be the hosting of the inaugural UCL Citizen Science Community event. This event provides a platform for community members to come together, share experiences, and explore collaborative opportunities. Stay tuned and participate!

Principles for UCL Citizen Science Projects: The Citizen Science Team recognizes the importance of establishing clear principles for UCL Citizen Science projects. In 2024, efforts are underway to articulate these principles, providing a framework that ensures the ethical, inclusive, and impactful execution of citizen science initiatives. These principles aim to guide project leaders, participants, and collaborators in creating meaningful contributions to both research and public engagement.

Establishing a Citizen Science Support Service: To further support the UCL community’s engagement with citizen science, the team is working on establishing a dedicated Citizen Science Support Service. This service will serve as a central hub for resources, guidance, and assistance related to citizen science projects. The team is also compiling an enhanced list of support resources for citizen science. This will include a diverse range of materials, from guidelines and toolkits to success stories and best practice examples. By consolidating these resources, the team intends to provide a valuable repository to guide researchers and community members involved in citizen science projects. While this is underway, we encourage you to explore the available resources and training materials on our website!

Open Access:

Support and Funding for Long-Form Outputs: In 2024, the Open Access Team is committed to extending support and funding to authors working on long-form outputs, such as monographs, book chapters, and edited collections. Recognizing the importance of diverse and open scholarly contributions, this initiative aims to facilitate open access publishing for a broader range of academic works. UCL authors are encouraged to apply for funding to cover the associated publishing costs, promoting accessibility and dissemination of scholarly knowledge.

Improving Profiles and RPS for Enhanced Accessibility: The Open Access Team is dedicated to enhancing the Profiles platform and Research Publications Service (RPS) in 2024. Plans include the development of department and group pages within these platforms, fostering a more comprehensive and accessible presentation of academic profiles, publications, and collaborative efforts. These enhancements contribute to the overall visibility of UCL research outputs and strengthen the university’s commitment to showcasing the diverse impactful work of its academic community.

Safeguarding Authors’ Rights for Open Availability: An active investigation into a UCL Rights Retention policy is underway, reflecting the Open Access Team’s commitment to safeguarding authors’ rights. This policy aims to support authors by allowing them to retain the rights to make their outputs openly available. By exploring and implementing this policy, the team seeks to align UCL with practices that prioritise authors’ control over the accessibility of their scholarly works. This initiative is an important step towards ensuring that the academic community retains agency in sharing their contributions openly.

Research Bibliometrics Team:

New LibGuide for Metrics Tools: In 2024, the Research Bibliometrics Team is focused on supporting researchers with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the landscape of research impact metrics. A new LibGuides is underway, focusing on key metrics tools, including InCites, Altmetric, and Overton. This comprehensive resource will serve as a guide for researchers, offering in-depth information on harnessing these tools to assess the impact and visibility of their scholarly work.

Training for Overton: As part of the team’s commitment to enhancing research impact assessment, special attention will be given to Overton. The Research Bibliometrics Team plans to roll out further training sessions specifically designed to harness the potential of the platform as a discovery and research metrics tool. This will provide researchers with skills and understanding enabling them to use Overton effectively for evaluating the broader impact of their research in the academic landscape.

Get Involved!

As we embark on 2024, the UCL Office for Open Science and Scholarship invites you to be a part of the open science and scholarship movement. Whether you are a researcher, student, or simply curious about the future of academia, your engagement can contribute to a more transparent, collaborative, and innovative research landscape. Stay connected for updates, events, and opportunities. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, and join our mailing list to be a part of the open science and scholarship conversation at UCL!

Dr Christiana McMahon & Christine Buckley – Research Data Support Officers

At UCL, we have a dedicated Research Data Repository. This can be used by staff and research students to archive and preserve research outputs. This can be anything from your datasets to a poster you presented at a conference.

What have we published?

In total, we published 162 items!

Total number of views in 2022: 172059

Total number of downloads in 2022: 117830

Dr Christiana McMahon & Christine Buckley – Research Data Support Officers

A Data Management Plan or DMP is an essential part of research data management and is usually completed in the first stage of any research project. It can help you think clearly about what data you will collect and how to store, curate, back up, archive and share this data.

You’ll find that many funders include a DMP as part of their grant applications, and we are more than happy to help review these.

You can check our recently updated webpage to learn how to create your DMP. 

How do I get support?

Just email us a copy of your plan to lib-researchsupport@ucl.ac.uk, or you can create your plan in DMPonline and request feedback.

How many DMPs have we reviewed?

Over the course of 2022, we reviewed a total of 39 plans, most of which supported grant applications submitted by researchers here at UCL.

The most popular months for sharing plans for feedback with the Research Data Management team were… April, June and October!

Post by Dr. Christiana McMahon & Christine Buckley – Research Data Support Officers

For those of you who have never experienced Love Data Week before, let me introduce it to you.

This is an international celebration of data. Organisations across the globe host a whole range of events intended for speakers to highlight their own data or to showcase best practices in research data management.

You can learn more about what is happening internationally by visiting the Love Data Week website.

As with every year, there is a theme. For this year and the theme is Data: Agent of Change.

“The theme this year is Data: Agent of Change. Love Data Week is about inspiring your community to use data to bring about changes that matter. Policy change, environmental change, social change… we can move mountains with the right data guiding our decisions.”- Love Data Week website

How are we celebrating this week?

This week we will be keeping active on our blog posts and Twitter account. We have been reviewing our activities over the last year and have found some great stuff.

• We will be talking about Data Management Plans and how to get support with this.
• We will be showcasing the training available to our community all year round.
• We will be looking at interesting statistics from our Research Data Repository.
• Finally, we will be showcasing some of the work from our community.

We’d love to showcase more, so please feel free to comment below for a shoutout.

Guest post by Christine Buckley, Research Data Support Officer

This year from Monday, 13 February – Friday, 17 February, we will be celebrating your data!

Here at UCL, we’ve been reviewing the year and loving what we’ve found. Follow us on Twitter and our blog to get your daily dose of heart-warming stats, our lovely training, and our blossoming repository.

This year the theme for Love Data Week is: “Data: Agent of Change”. Leave us a comment below if this describes your work.

The important thing to remember about data as you reach the end of a project is that while sharing your data openly can have some brilliant outcomes, for you as a researcher, but also for the development of your research area, sometimes it isn’t possible to be truly open. This doesn’t mean that there is nothing you can do.

The core principles you should consider when planning and managing your data are those of FAIR. These principles apply whether your data is being made open or not – FAIR and Open are not mutually exclusive.

• Your outputs should be Findable – this means they should be discoverable by the wider academic community and the public. If your outputs can be made open, this is a case of choosing an appropriate repository, but this still applies if your data cannot be shared. For example, if your data is commercially sensitive or cannot be fully anonymised, it should still be made known that the data exists so that interested parties can still find out about the project. They may approach you for further details or to collaborate.
• They should be Accessible – you should make sure that you, or the system you choose uses unique identifiers, high quality metadata and a clear use of language and access protocols. This goes for data you might want to share, which could be the whole dataset, a derived subset of the data, the data that underlies a specific publication or even just a record of the project as discussed above.
• They should be Interoperable – this means that any data structures or file types you use need to be able to be opened and used by others. This is an important consideration, as your data, code, annotations or any other file needs to be reusable into the future when the original programme you used may not be around anymore.
• Finally, they should be Reusable – enabling the repurposing of research outputs to maximise their potential. This means that file types need to be operational long after publication as discussed above, but also files need to be annotated in such a way that someone else can use it accurately to either reproduce or build upon your research. If data cannot be shared, you can still take action. If you have used commercial or clinical datasets, or personally identifiable data that needs to remain restricted, you can share how you processed the data to reach your published conclusions, or the code you used. This will enable researchers who access or collect the same data from different participants to reproduce your research, without access to the same exact data.

When combined, these four elements help lower barriers to research outputs and facilitate secondary researchers finding, understanding, reusing and repurposing your research to realise additional research opportunities and maximise existing resources, even if you can’t share the data in full.

Whatever happens to your data at the end of a project should have been in the plan from the beginning. You should be aware from the start how much of your data can be shared, and you will have thought about where and how you were going to share it. Of course, if you aren’t sure, there are teams that can help make these decisions, and a wide range of advice available, even about less common topics like finding data to form part of your project, how to negotiate a Material Transfer Agreement in order to use it, how to securely destroy sensitive data or even how to cite data appropriately, just to name a few!

With this post we bring our Love Data Week full circle, back to the teams that can support you, and the importance of a good plan. Thank you for joining our activities this week, we hope you enjoyed it.

At UCL there is a recognition that there is more to publishing research than simply books and papers in print and PDF format.

One of the ways this is supported is through the UCL Research Data Repository. Our institutional publishing platform can be accessed here: https://rdr.ucl.ac.uk/

The RDR can be used to publish all kinds of data, in a raw or visual format. All items are given a DOI and can be referenced to the same standard as a journal article or book. Many published items are supporting data for other publications, but a large number are also standalone items.

Visual Archaeological Data

A great example of using the RDR to present and share visual information is this archaeological data record: https://doi.org/10.5522/04/11385852.v1

This record is part of a project to document and catalogue archaeological sites across Central Asia. The record includes photographs of the site, height map data, 3D models along with some descriptive information about the site itself and co-ordinates which specify the location. The 3D models are also hosted live on the Sketchfab website, but including them in this data record provides an extra level of preservation. While the Sketchfab website might become defunct, this data record becomes part of the UCL permanent collection and will retained. The files could be used to reconstruct the 3D models if needed.

Sharing Research Methods

Sharing data is important, but sharing research methodology can be a really powerful way to improve reproducibility and transparency. The UCL RDR can also be used to share methods and designs used in research. It’s worth highlighting that although the RDR has “data” in the name it is very flexible in terms of what can be shared. Questionnaires, study designs, posters and presentations are all accepted.

As an example of sharing research methods this Survey of Clinical Trial units published with the repository contains not only an anonymised set of survey responses but also the exact survey document used. This means there is a clear record of the exact questions used to generate the data that could be easily used to recreate a similar survey at later date, for example, to see how trends have shifted over time.

Access this record here: https://doi.org/10.5522/04/7992998.v1

Beyond the RDR: Publishing data from the Natsal Surveys

The UCL RDR is just one platform for sharing data, and is not always the most appropriate for a particular project. A great example of presenting data in a way that makes it available to explore for a general audience is an online interactive that’s been developed using data from the last Natsal survey.

The British National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (or ‘Natsal’ for short) are a project led by UCL. So far three versions of the survey have been completed approximately every decade, the first in 1990, and since then over 45000 people have been interviewed, each one randomly-selected from across the country so that the data can be considered as broadly representative of the British population. First carried out in response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, the Natsal surveys have become the leading source of reliable information about sex in Britain. Each of the surveys provides a snapshot of the nation’s sexual behaviour, experiences, and attitudes, and together they paint a comprehensive picture of how the nation’s sex lives change over time. Interviews for the next and fourth Natsal are due to start this summer.

The Natsal research team have been sharing their data through the UK Data Service for many years, providing a useful resource for other researchers. Data released from the last survey goes one step further to make sure the data are accessible beyond professional researchers and statisticians. Anyone will be able to explore the latest Natsal data using a freely, visually engaging interactive explorer, developed as a collaboration between UCL and the Open University, which also includes a taster animation and interactive activity ‘No sex please, we’re British!’ which allows anyone to see how their own views correspond to the survey’s findings for the population as a whole.

• Access the animation and activity
• Natsal data explorer

When working with an external collaborator from another university, an industrial partner, or obtaining access to pre-existing data provided by a third party there are data management responsibilities to be aware of. Transfer of data can involve legally binding agreements governing data storage and usage. Even if a legal agreement is not required, managing the transfer and sharing of data can be challenging. Here’s a short guide to services and support at UCL.

Where to put your data?

There are several systems for storing data at UCL, depending on your needs. Here is a quick guide to determine the most suitable choice when transferring data in from external sources.

• Dropbox (www.ucl.ac.uk/dropbox/) Not to be confused with the commercial service of the same name! This service is simple and convenient if you want to transfer a small number of files to or from an external collaborator outside of UCL as a one off and needs no specific security requirements
• SharePoint and OneDrive for Business Is a better option if you need to transfer files between yourself and a collaborator more frequently. Once you are set up with this system it can be configured to allow an external user access.
• Research Data Storage Service Is for large scale data storage and supports rapid transfer of large files. Once a project is set up it can be configured to allow access for external users. This is an excellent system to use for the transfer of very large data volumes.
• Data Safe Haven This secure data storage service is suitable for personal identifiable data, and could be used in other instances when a higher level of security is desired. It conforms to the ISO 27001 standard for information security management and the NHS DSP requirements. A level of training and verification is required to get set up on the platform, so if your project requires this it’s best to begin the process as soon as possible.
• The UCL Jill Dando Institute runs a specialised laboratory for processing data which is highly sensitive such as confidential crime data. This is probably beyond the needs of the majority of UCL projects. These facilities are suitable for those that require a system which is a Police Assured Secure Facility or need to work with UK government data marked as OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE and OFFICIAL. Similar to the Data Safe Haven there is a vetting and training process to get access.

Using surveys to collect data

Recently there has been move toward doing survey work largely online to support social distancing. Using online survey tools can be an efficient way to gather responses from participants and may even allow for an increase in the size and scope of a study, but there are data security concerns to be aware of.

• Questionnaires can be constructed using a variety of online tools. For any research that doesn’t involve collection of identifiable personal information there is no special requirement here. In fact, the free google forms service might fit the needs of many projects.
• UCL has access to some in-house tools that provide some extra functionality. If identifiable or otherwise sensitive data is being collected the REDcap tool can be used to send this data directly into the Data Safe Haven.
• Of course, some projects may still make use of an in-person paper survey form. In these cases, if the forms contain identifiable or sensitive information it is necessary to store the documents in a physically secure location. If the data needs to be converted into electronic format then it should be stored in the Data Safe Haven system.
• For survey work involving in-depth interviews with participants, the situation is a little more difficult. The nature of these sorts of interviews increases the likelihood of sensitive information being given. When conducting in-person interviews consider using recording devices with built-in encryption. If recording a zoom or teams interview make sure the recording is transferred as quickly as possible to safe storage and is not left in cloud storage for any length of time.

Data Transfer Agreements

You may require a kind of contract to get data from a third party, and there might be conditions attached to the permission to use this data. These kinds of contract are called Data Transfer Agreements (DTA) might need to be in place and is very likely to be part of the process when working with a commercial partner. Academic collaborators should also consider having a DTA drawn up, just to ensure clarity of how the data is being processed and prevent any disputes that could otherwise arise.

A data transfer agreement (DTA) is a specific version of a materials transfer agreement, which is a type of contract used when physical objects materials with scientific or commercial value and transferred between UCL and a third party. Both of these are handled by UCL Research and Innovation services who can provide more information and guidance on this if required.

Do also be aware that a data transfer agreement can be put in place by UCL staff and students when giving data to an external organisation too. They work both ways! If you ever need to share data with an external collaborator always consider if a DTA is necessary. It might be a useful tool to make sure your data is used for its intended purpose and is looked after properly.

This agreement is important as it outlines your responsibilities and permissions with respect to the data and is a legally binding agreement. There may be restrictions on what it can be used for, who can access it, and what security will be in place to protect the data. The agreement will specify details such as whether the data can or cannot be shared with other staff at UCL, with external partners, and what kind of security arrangements are required for storage.

Data Sources with specific application processes

A great deal of data is collected by government departments, healthcare providers and other services which can potentially be very valuable for researchers. UK law permits data the secondary use of personal data collected for reasons such as health, policing, education to be re-used for research if it is deemed to be in the public good. While specific agreements with other universities or commercial partners can be covered with DTAs, these data providers have well defined processes for granting access as they deal with relative large volumes of requests. Depending on the type of data you may have to meet security requirements. The UCL Data Safe Haven often helps with this. Here are some examples of data access services:

• Office for National Statistics
• National Pupil database
• HM Courts and Tribunals Service
• NHS digital

Need further guidance?

This is a brief overview of a big topic, so if you want further guidance on any of these points several teams across UCL can assist.

• Information Governance assist with Data Safe Haven related questions: infogov@ucl.ac.uk
• The Data Protection team also assist with questions around handling personal data: data-protection@ucl.ac.uk
• For more general enquiries the library research data management teams are a good first contact point and can direct you to the appropriate person: lib-researchsupport@ucl.ac.uk

To mark Love Data week here at UCL, the RDM team have published the now annual RDM review: https://doi.org/10.5522/04/19070309

Research Data Management (RDM) covers the decisions made – and actions taken – to manage research outputs across the research data lifecycle, complementing other components of open science and scholarship such as: Open Access, Bibliometrics, Research Integrity and Citizen Science.

As advocates of best practice in research data management, the RDM team have continued to promote UCL’s definition of ‘research data’ which emphasises that data refers to any output of research relevant to research findings and that publishing software, models, protocols, figures etc. is equally as important as publishing data.

In 2021, we reviewed a record-breaking number of data management and sharing plans; plus, we are publishing more research outputs than ever using the UCL Research Data Repository which recorded over 97000 downloads. We also continued to provide training via Moodle with almost 300 people completing writing a data management plan to date. 2021 also saw us become known as Library, Culture, Collection & Open Science and we as a team joined the Centre for Advanced Research Computing as associate staff.

Looking forwards to 2022, we plan on working even more closely with colleagues across UCL to enhance data management services throughout the research data lifecycle. We will also continue to advocate for changes to policy and practice relating to the way UCL rewards and assigns credit to all contributors to research to better acknowledge the vital contributions made by those especially in non-academic roles.

The full report can be found here: McMahon, Christiana; Houghton, James; Wallis, Kirsty (2022): Research Data Management: The 2021 Review. University College London. Presentation. https://doi.org/10.5522/04/19070309

Here’s to 2022!