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Research Data Policy

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Principles and guidelines on handling research data at Bielefeld University (19 July 2011)

Researchers at Bielefeld University should treat research data* as valuable academic work in line with the following principles:
  • Across the entire data lifecycle – from data collection to publication – research data should be handled and documented diligently and according to appropriate subject-specific standards
  • Each Project Investigator (PI) should provide a data management plan in line with the given subject-specific guidelines for institutions and projects – particularly for each new data-intensive research proposal  
  • Research data management in institutions and projects should aim towards making data  widely available and retaining it for the long term in order to facilitate its reuse for research, practice, and the general public while simultaneously balancing the need to protect intellectual property rights, personal data, and obligations to third parties
  • To promote a sustained embedment and development of high-quality research data management, both teaching and further training should pay sufficient attention to subject-specific training in methods and the principles of good academic practice
--- *In a broader sense, the term research data refers to any primary data, secondary analyses, visualizations, models, analysis tools, collections of objects or products that are generated and used during the academic research lifecycle.

Resolution on Research Data Management (8. March 2013)

The University of Bielefeld supports its scientists in implementing the principles on research data at Bielefeld University of 19 July 2011 in the sense of binding and quality-conscious research data management.

  1. The Rectorate calls on all applicants to make use of the university's advisory services in advance of third-party funding projects that require a data management plan (e.g. German Research Foundation).
  2. The Rectorate encourages scientists and scholars to publish their research data via registered disciplinary research data archives or, if not available, via the research data archive of the University of Bielefeld. The publication should take personal and company-related interests into account and take place under binding licensing conditions.

For the fulfilment of point 1), the Contact Point Research Data at the University Library [since November 2018 Competence Center Research Data, editor's note] offers a comprehensive consulting service for the preparation of data management plans and the continuous documentation of research data.

According to point 2), the Bielefeld University Library supports faculties and scientific institutions in networking their offerings with worldwide data archives. At the same time, the university-wide service PUB - Publications at the University of Bielefeld allows the primary publication of research data. Directories such as the DFG-funded "Registry of Research Data Repositories" form the basis for the search for suitable publication locations for research data.

(approved by the Rectorate at its meeting on 12 November 2013)

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