Managing Research Data with Mendeley and Mendeley Data: Improving Journal Data Set Organization
Mendeley Data, an open, secure cloud-based data repository, is revolutionising the way researchers manage and share their datasets. This platform offers a suite of tools designed to streamline data management, analysis, and publication processes.
Uploading Data
With Mendeley Data, researchers can store their datasets securely, ensuring long-term preservation and privacy. Before uploading, it's essential to organise data files systematically and include detailed metadata to facilitate understanding and discoverability. Metadata templates provided by the repository or using standards like the DataCite schema can help maintain consistency and support DOI issuance for citation.
Sharing Data
Deciding on the dataset's sharing status is crucial. Mendeley Data allows you to keep data private while developing, share selectively with collaborators, or publish openly with a Creative Commons license to enable wider reuse and proper attribution. Including an appropriate license clarifies how others can use, share, or reuse the data. For sensitive or human subjects data, ensure that consent forms address data sharing and that data is de-identified before upload.
Organizing Data
Organising data in Mendeley Data is straightforward. Create folders and subfolders for logical grouping of related sets, such as by project, chapter, or analysis type. Apply descriptive tags to further categorise and prioritise data or literature linked to the dataset. Consistently document and update metadata and tags as the dataset evolves to maintain usability and traceability.
Additional Recommendations
Regularly maintain documentation to ensure data remains understandable even to users outside your immediate team or in the future. Use the DOI provided by Mendeley Data after publication to enable proper citation and ensure your dataset’s impact and visibility. Take advantage of institutional data management support or consult relevant research data services for help with data licensing, preservation, and compliance.
Advanced Features
Mendeley Data offers advanced search options to help others easily access and cite research data. It makes it easy to share research data with collaborators by providing direct links and assigning specific access levels. Universities can manage datasets more effectively using Mendeley Data, facilitating collaboration between individual researchers, departments, and international teams.
In summary, the best practice with Mendeley Data involves comprehensive preparation of data and metadata before upload, thoughtful licensing and sharing choices to foster reuse under clear terms, and meticulous organisation through folders and tags to streamline management and discoverability.
Technology in data-and-cloud-computing platforms like Mendeley Data significantly enhances the way researchers manage and handle their datasets by facilitating data storage, organization, analysis, and sharing. By taking advantage of its features and adhering to best practices, such as careful data preparation, clear data licensing, and effective organization, researchers can capitalize on its potential to advance their research and enhance collaboration.
