ZBW MediaTalk

In this blog post, we present a selection of portals and self-study courses that impart knowledge about research data management to researchers and librarians:

Information platforms

  • The information portal forschungsdaten.info (link in German) contains articles on the various aspects of managing research data. In addition, there are best-practice examples, tutorials and references to further information and projects. The portal was initiated and supported by the Ministry for Science, Research and Art of Baden-Württemberg.
  • The FOSTER portal collects further resources on research data management and lists these by topic; see.
  • How-to guides and checklists are part of the extensive range of services offered by the Digital Curation Center. This includes a checklist for drawing up a data management plan, a guide entitled “How to license research data” and more.
  • The UK Data Service provides a comprehensive range of information on all aspects of research data management. The contents include data management planning and sharing (not to mention checklists and legal information) as well as tips on how to document, format and store data. Hints for collaborative research, tools and templates as well as training resources round out the offer.
  • A similar service is offered by the Australian National Data Service.
  • Specialist information platforms

    In addition to these general information platforms, there are also platforms with specialist information on how to handle research data:

  • Forschungsdaten Bildung” (link in German)
  • gf bio – German Federation for Biological Data – Research Data Management
  • Clarin D for Humanities, Cultural and Social Sciences
  • Auffinden. Zitieren. Dokumentieren. Research data in the social and economic sciences (link in German), a guide on how to handle research data from the ZBW, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for Social Sciences and the “RatSWD” German Data Forum.
  • MOOCs, video tutorials and more

  • The “Managing and Sharing Research Data” course is offered on the FOSTER portal. Among other things, the FAIR principles as well as how to write a data management plan, how to store data in a suitable data repository, and how to achieve maximum impact with one’s research data are taught here.
  • The Open Data Handbook highlights the value of open data, includes an open data guide and case studies with related solutions, and offers numerous additional resources on open data.
  • The Humboldt University of Berlin offers video tutorials on research data management.
  • MANTRA Research Data Management Training is a free online course for researchers offered by the University of Edinburgh. There is also a “Do-It-Yourself Research Data Management Training Kit” for librarians.
  • On Coursera, a five-week (fee-based) MOOC “Research Data Management and Sharing” is also offered by the University of Edinburgh together with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the end of this MOOC, a certificate can be obtained.
  • The “Essentials 4 Data Support” course offered by Research Data Netherlands teaches how researchers can be supported in storing, managing and sharing their research data. There is a free online-only version and a payment version with personal support that is offered on certain dates.
  • Birgit Fingerle holds a diploma in economics and business administration and works at ZBW, among others, in the fields innovation management, open innovation, open science and currently in particular with the "Open Economics Guide". Portrait: Copyright Northerncards ©

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