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Research Data Management

A practical guide on the best practices of research data and codes management

Research data lifecycle

Research Data Lifecycle 

The research data lifecycle encompasses various stages of the research process, from the initial planning and collection through to preserving, sharing and reusing. The below figure shows how the stages are linked: 

research data lifecycle

Adapted from: Network of the National Library of Medicine. (2024). Data Glossary: Research lifecycle. https://www.nnlm.gov/guides/data-glossary/research-lifecycle

Each stage involves several research data management activities, including but not limited to:

 

icon for planning stage

Data planning

  • Data management plan

  • Data policies and ethical compliance

 data collection icon

Data acquisition 

  • Data collection  

  • Documentation and metadata
data processing icon

Data processing 

  • Data cleaning 

  • Data organization

 data analysis icon

Data analysis

  • Analysis and collaboration 

  • Version control
icon for preserving stage

Data preservation 

  • Long-term preservation

  • Storage and back-up

 data sharing icon

Data sharing 

  • Data publication 

  • Data sharing
data reuse icon

Data reuse

  • Data repositories & data visibility

  • Data citation & licensing