By Katie Elcombe and Despina Clancy. This article was first published in the Nov-Dec 2011 edition of UOW’s Innovation and Research Magazine.

It has never been more important than now to ensure that data management is at the forefront of research practices.

Trends in the current global research environment have led towards rapid advances in technology that have taken research efficiency and data management to a new level. The US and UK are leading the way in this emerging field by already promoting the sharing and open use of government data. Within Australia, we have seen the creation of the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) which was established to provide best practice around data management and to ensure that research data collections are treated as national resources.

Unfortunately, the loss and ineffective management of research data is still a reality. Poor data management practices place research data at risk of theft, failure and misuse which leads to the questioning of methodologies and the validation of results. Through the implementation of necessary data management practices, the possibilities of sharing, re-using and transforming research data presents limitless opportunities. Research data is a valuable asset and needs to be treated as such.   Continue reading →