Lesson 1: Data Management

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The world of data around us

Why manage data:
The data deluge has created a surge of information the researcher perspective
that needs to be well-managed, discoverable, and
accessible. • Keep yourself organized ⇨ find your own files!
• Track your processes for reproducibility
The amount of available storage is not keeping pace • Better version control of data
with the amount of data being produced. • More efficient data
Information vs. Available Storage quality control Data  
• More backups to avoid

Gantz, The Expanding Digital Universe

data loss Reuse  
• Format your data for
reuse by yourself & Data  
others
• Document your data for Sharing  
understability and reuse
• Prepare it to share it Data  
& gain credibility and
recognition for your
Management  
scientific efforts
Data management facilitates sharing and reuse.
Causes of data loss
• Natural disasters
• Facilities infrastructure failures
Data Reuse Example

© Jerry & Sherry Liguori

• Storage failure Researchers reused
• Server hardware or software failure and aggregated data
• Application software failure from several different
• Human errors sources to determine
• Malicious attack migration routes for
• Format obsolescence specific bird species.
• Loss of competencies
• Loss of funding
• Loss of insitutional commitment The Case for Data Management
Costs of not doing data management can be very high! If data are: The results are:
• Well-organized • High quality data
• Documented • Data that is easy to
The Data Lifecycle
• Preserved share and reuse
The stages • Accessible • Citation & credibility
through which • Verified as to to researcher
well-managed accuracy & validity • Cost savings to further
data passes science
from project
inception to
The
conclusion. Data Local contact information
Lifecycle