Research Data Management Survey Results

Anna Clements
Wednesday 31 August 2016

The results of our survey to gather feedback on current research data management practices at the University are in.
The lucky winner of the £100 Amazon voucher was Aubrey Zerkle from the School of Geography and Geosciences (pictured here being presented with her prize by Anna Clements, Library Assistant Director (Digital Research)).
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Our survey aimed to identify issues such as:

  • What is the nature of current research data at the University?
  • How is research data currently stored, managed and shared?
  • What are the barriers to researchers managing their data effectively?
  • Where are the gaps in current provision, and what services do we need to provide to fill these gaps?
  • How much of a role does software development play in research at the University?

The results of the survey will be used to improve data management support for researchers at both an institutional and national level.
This blog will be one of a series reporting on the findings of the research data management survey. Here are some facts and figures from the survey:

  • The survey went out to 2000 research staff and students within the University
  • The survey ran for one month (July 2016)

Who completed the survey?:

  • 300 researchers completed the survey
  • We got responses from every school

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  • A large proportion of those who completed the survey were postgrads (47%), 39% were academic staff, and 9% were RAs or PostDocs

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Type of data:

  • Documents or reports were the most popular type of digital research data, with 77% of researchers reporting that they generated these
  • Next most popular (at 40%) was “data generated from or by computer programs”, closely followed by spreadsheets (at 39%)

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Amount of data:

  • 47% of researchers at the University estimate that they have less than 50GB of research data
  • 12% estimate that they have more than 1TB
  • But 20% are not sure how much data they have

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  • Most researchers expect their data storage requirements to increase over the next 5 years, with 42% expecting a substantial increase

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Stay tuned for more insights from the research data management survey, where we will look in more detail at topics such as research data management plans, developing software, and preservation.
If you’d like to find out more about the research support and services the Library can offer you, please visit our webpages.
 

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