Research Data Management (RDM) has received a lot of attention recently. In South Africa, the importance of RDM has amplified since the release of the National Research Foundation‟s (NRF) open access statement. According to the statement, researchers who receive funding from the NRF must deposit their research output in an open access (OA) repository. In addition, the data supporting the research should be deposited in an accredited OA repository with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for future citations (NRF, 2015: online). The mandate, along with other drivers such as research data re-use, increased impact and validation of research findings has forced institutions to investigate the possibility of offering RDM services in their institutions (Ashley, 2012). It is expected that libraries and Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals will initiate and support RDM in their institutions. LIS professionals will need to upgrade or obtain new skills and knowledge to fulfil their new roles and responsibilities. Various training opportunities are available to interested professionals to improve their knowledge and skills related to RDM. These can be as simple as a workshop or as complex as a university degree. The objective of this research was to identify and evaluate a RDM training intervention to determine whether the training intervention could enhance the knowledge and skills of LIS professionals in South African (SA) Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). An embedded research design was used to investigate whether an RDM workshop, hosted by the Network for Data and Information Curation Communities (NeDICC), could enhance the LIS professional‟s (participants) perception of their RDM understanding, knowledge and skills. The research found that the RDM workshop was highly successful in enhancing the participant‟s perception of their RDM understanding and knowledge. The RDM workshop was less successful in enhancing the participant‟s perception of their RDM skills. It was recommended that LIS professionals (1) take advantage of the online RDM training material available to enhance their understanding and knowledge of RDM; (2) attend face-to-face training interventions to enhance or develop their RDM skills and (3) enrol in university level educational programmes to gain a qualification in RDM if they qualify. It was also recommended that institutions that provide RDM training should focus on specific aspects of RDM instead of offering a general overview. This research can be used to inspire larger studies or studies that compare two or more RDM training interventions. / Mini Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Carnegie Corporation of New York / University of Pretoria / Information Science / MIT / Unrestricted

Management of research data is globally being seen as part of good research practice. As a result of this, funders are increasingly insisting on proof of good research data management (RDM) practices when funding proposals are submitted. This study aimed at establishing the data management practices of emerging researchers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa. With no official RDM procedures currently being implemented at the CSIR, it was hoped that by gaining information about the RDM practices of emerging CSIR researchers, as well as insight into the RDM challenges experienced by them, this researcher would be able to put forward recommendations enabling the establishing of an RDM regime at the CSIR. The study aimed at answering several research questions. The main research question was: How can an organisation like the CSIR ensure that future researchers apply best practices when managing the CSIR’s research data? Five research sub-questions were identified: 1. What are the international RDM requirements, standards, best practices and expectations that are being developed? 2. What data practices need more formalised support: at CSIR, nationally, internationally? 3. What data are collected and held by emerging researchers in the CSIR? 4. What are the current RDM practices and themes among emerging researchers in the CSIR? 5. What are the RDM-related challenges, issues and concerns facing emerging researchers at the CSIR? A total of 48 emerging researchers from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa completed an online survey investigating their RDM practices. RDM practices investigated included the use of data management plans, data storage and backup locations, creation of metadata, metadata standard adherence, and data sharing practices. Challenges faced when managing research data, as well as RDM needs and requirements, also formed part of the survey. Results of the online questionnaire revealed that the RDM practices of the group studied do not show to differ significantly from experienced CSIR researchers, or from researchers studied elsewhere on the globe. Findings enabled this researcher to put forward several recommendations which would assist in the implementing of a formalised RDM structure at the CSIR. Recommendations addressed, but were not limited to: formalization of RDM procedures, RDM marketing, and RDM training. / Dissertation (MIS)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Information Science / MIS / Unrestricted

The current global and data intensive outlook of research provides new opportunities and challenges for HEIs including effective and sustainable RDM. As a growing area of interest in the global research arena, experiences from developed countries have dominated the body of literature on RDM. This study is in part, to fill this gap by assessing the state of the art of RDM and institutional preparedness at the University of Ghana (through existing data management activities and capabilities) in order to develop a plan for implementation. The study used a qualitative case study method and gathered data using semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Thematic analysis method was used to analyse the data collected. A total of seven respondents (five service providers and two senior researchers) were selected purposively using two sampling techniques ("priori criteria sampling" and snowball sampling). Criteria were set for their inclusion and each respondent provided information about institutional support, capabilities, policies and expectations on RDM. The findings of the study revealed a number of RDM related activities, these include support for collaborative research, support for data analysis and computational science, guidance on RDM and grant applications as well as support for storage and high-speed connectivity to facility the research enterprise at UG. In terms of capabilities, no specific RDM policy was identified, existing infrastructure identified include an HPC cluster, a private cloud facility (HP Cloud Matrix), an Institutional repository (UGSpace), an institutional Google Drive platform, data analysis packages (NVivo and SPSS) and a robust network and security infrastructure. These were not necessarily provisioned for RDM purposes. Also, the findings show that staff do not possess the necessary skills or adequate knowledge to fully support RDM at UG. In terms of the specific objectives of the study, the results of the semi-structured interviews and document analysis provided an understanding of the current situation (i.e. requirements, current activities and capabilities at the UG) which is the first objective of the study. These findings were then benchmarked against the EPSRC policy framework following the outline of the DCC CARDIO Matrix and using the optimal desirable expectation or level of development as the standard for comparison. This was useful in identifying gaps in RDM awareness, support and capabilities at UG which is the second objective of the study. To achieve the third objective, which was identifying priority areas for RDM development, the researcher examined both initial findings (i.e. findings on requirements, current activities and capabilities identified under the first objective as well as the gaps identified in the second objective) and proposed six broad areas where UG must focus its RDM development agenda. Finally, the six broad areas proposed in objective three were further cascaded into a number of specific initiatives and tasks to be implemented. This was done taking cognisance of the potential of current infrastructure, gaps identified in institutional awareness and capabilities as well as essentials for a cultural changed. The study concluded that RDM at the University of Ghana is currently underdeveloped but with immense potential for growth. While a few RDM related activities were identified, existing capabilities were generally found to be inchoate, uncoordinated and not formally instituted. The study recommended six main areas where the UG should focus RDM development, these include: constituting a steering group to spearhead and coordinate RDM development at the UG, developing a coordinated policy framework for RDM at UG, streamlining existing technical infrastructure to support data management requirements, creating opportunities for RDM training and capacity development for professional staff, researchers and students, developing services to support requirements, and exploring internal funding strategies to facilitate RDM development and support at the UG. The study also recommends that the academic community at the UG should be actively engaged throughout the RDM development process as this is critical to ensure that the eventual solutions are fit for purpose and acceptable. / Mini Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Information Science / MIT / Unrestricted

Das hier vorliegende Handbuch ist im Rahmen des Projektes „Vernetztes Forschungsdatenmanagement an Hochschulen für angewandte Wissenschaften am Beispiel der HTW Dresden – FoDaMa-HTWD“ entstanden.1 Es stellt eine kurze und übersichtliche Zusammenfassung der wichtigsten Erkenntnisse dar, welche während der Projektlaufzeit an der Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden (HTWD) zum Forschungsdatenmanagement (FDM) gewonnen wurden. Die Autor/innen möchten mit diesem Handbuch andere Hochschulen für angewandte Wissenschaften (HAW) bei der Strategieentwicklung und dem notwendigen FDM-Strukturaufbau unterstützen. Es richtet sich demnach vorrangig an Personen, die sich an Hochschulen mit der strategischen Weiterentwicklung im Bereich Forschung beschäftigen und sich vielleicht die Frage stellen, welche unterstützenden FDM-Services und Maßnahmen ergriffen werden sollten, damit die Forschenden der eigenen Institution der zunehmenden Forderung nach offener und nachhaltiger Arbeitsweise im Umgang mit Forschungsdaten gerecht werden können. / This handbook was developed within the project ' Vernetztes Forschungsdatenmanagement an Hochschulen für angewandte Wissenschaften am Beispiel der HTW Dresden – FoDaMa-HTWD '. It is a short and clear summary of the most important findings, which were gained during the project at the University of Applied Sciences Dresden (HTWD) on research data management (FDM). With this handbook, the authors would like to support other Universities of Applied Sciences (HAW) in developing strategies and the necessary FDM structure. It is therefore primarily aimed at people who are involved in the strategic development of research at universities and who may ask themselves the question of which supporting FDM services and measures should be taken to ensure that the researchers of their own institution are able to meet the increasing demand for open and sustainable working methods in dealing with research data.