Data management is a complex process that entails gaining, validating, storing, and processing a set of data. Typically, different agencies and directorates have their guidelines as to how data should be managed. However, regardless of the type of a project, data management aims at protection aligned with accessibility for all users. This paper will provide an evaluation of the data management plan submitted by the MIT Libraries online platform.
The guide proposed by MIT Libraries contains recommendations applicable to different data types; there are no limitations as to what kind of data should be created. There are many ways of organizing data, and to define which methods would be most effective in a given case, it suffices to answer the following questions:
- What information should the title and description of a file contain so that it is easy to find?
- If other users work with the data, what method of organization could make it easier for them to access information (MIT Libraries, n.d.)?
It is imperative to choose the best ways to store data during the active stage of research. The guide by MIT Libraries suggests that professors and students use Athena lockers, i.e., directories in the Athena filesystem. Alongside Athena lockers, MIT Libraries allow creating DropBox accounts with unlimited storage accessible from any web browser. Lastly, the last option mentioned in the guide is the creation of personal servers for which MIT provides a full-service operation (MIT Libraries, n.d.). After the completion of a project or research, it is recommended to keep data for three more years while ensuring safety and accessibility. The options given in the guide include storing data in an archive or a repository. To prepare data for sharing, researchers should consider anonymizing it and converting to stable file formats to avoid destruction.
References
MIT Libraries. (n.d.). Write a data management plan. Web.