Library Guides: Research Data Management at Charles Sturt: FAIR and CARE

FAIR data principles

The FAIR data principles are international guidelines for research data management that aim to optimise the reuse of research data. This is achieved by making research data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.

Data should not only be FAIR for humans but also for machines, for example enabling automated search, linking and access to data.

Key elements for FAIR data are:

rich metadata and documentation
using open or standard file formats
having persistent identifiers for data objects
using licences for reuse

Data management plans and placing data in repositories help to make data FAIR which means you and others get the most out of your research data.

CARE Principles

Does your research involve handling, managing and/or analysing Indigenous data? If so, you should consider applying the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance.

The CARE Principles describe how data should be treated to ensure that there is Indigenous governance over the data and that its use is respected. ‘CARE’ is the acronym for:

Why manage your research data?

Drivers:

Being consistent with relevant legislation
Compliance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research
Alignment with the Charles Sturt Intellectual Property (IP) Policy and the Charles Sturt Research Policy
Alignment with Ethics agreements, licenses and contracts

Benefits

Establishing a best-practice culture
Improving research efficiency and effectiveness
Increased citations and potential collaboration through advertising of data sets
Where appropriate making data available for reuse
Improving value of the datasets
Well curated data can open up collaboration and funding opportunities
Align with the FAIR Data and CARE principles

RDM Procedure FAQs

Frequently asked questions on the Research Data Management Procedure (RDM) and the Intellectual Property policy (IP) are below:

	Answer	Comments
Who does the RDM policy apply to?	The policy applies to all research conducted by or on behalf of Charles Sturt University. This includes (but is not limited to) all staff, adjuncts, contractors, students and others.	More details at: Charles Sturt's Research Data Management Procedure: Scope
Who is responsible for RDM?	The researcher and HDR student are the 'data stewards' of the data. It is their responsibility to plan, to adopt good research data management practices during research, and where possible, to organise, describe and potentially share completed data sets.	The university's role is to assist researchers and HDR students at each stage. Contact libresearch@csu.edu.au or for storage, raise a service desk request with DIT.
Who owns the data?	Data ownership is outlined in the Charles Sturt's IP Policy. In summary, where data is generated by staff of Charles Sturt, the university owns the IP. Where data is generated by students, the IP is owned by the student.	IP ownership will vary where staff, students and others involved in research at Charles Sturt are subject to a contract or license conditions. In situations where HDR studies are funded by industry or there is a strong possibility of commercial potential for the outcomes, a student may be asked to assign their IP to Charles Sturt. This will not detract from the student's recognition of "inventorship" of the data.

Answer

Comments

Who does the RDM policy apply to?

The policy applies to all research conducted by or on behalf of Charles Sturt University. This includes (but is not limited to) all staff, adjuncts, contractors, students and others.

More details at: Charles Sturt's Research Data Management Procedure: Scope

Who is responsible for RDM?

The researcher and HDR student are the 'data stewards' of the data. It is their responsibility to plan, to adopt good research data management practices during research, and where possible, to organise, describe and potentially share completed data sets.

The university's role is to assist researchers and HDR students at each stage.

Contact libresearch@csu.edu.au or for storage, raise a service desk request with DIT.

Who owns the data?

Data ownership is outlined in the Charles Sturt's IP Policy.

In summary, where data is generated by staff of Charles Sturt, the university owns the IP.

Where data is generated by students, the IP is owned by the student.

IP ownership will vary where staff, students and others involved in research at Charles Sturt are subject to a contract or license conditions.

In situations where HDR studies are funded by industry or there is a strong possibility of commercial potential for the outcomes, a student may be asked to assign their IP to Charles Sturt. This will not detract from the student's recognition of "inventorship" of the data.