Guidelines for Research Data Management
The responsible handling of research data is a key component of good research practice. Researchers face the challenge of having to comply with constantly changing legal, ethical and discipline-specific requirements. To guide and facilitate the implementation of quality-assured research data management (RDM), binding and recommendatory guidelines play an important role.
This page provides you with a structured overview of key guidelines and recommendations for handling research data. This allows you to organize your data-based research transparently and efficiently, from planning and collection to analysis, archiving, and the subsequent use of the data.
Research Data Policy
The University of Mannheim introduced a research data policy in 2024 that applies to researchers, teachers, and students at the University of Mannheim. In accordance with this policy, they are responsible for
- the legally compliant collection, secure storage, and standardized processing of research data,
- the planning and documentation of the entire research process,
- the selection of suitable services for archiving, providing, and licensing data, and
- the integration of methods for handling research data in teaching and training.
Code of Good Research Practice
The guideline defines legally binding standards for researchers, teachers, and students on scientific integrity at the University of Mannheim. Please observe the following when handling research data:
- Research data, including methods and software, should be published if possible.
- Raw data, key material, and research software must also be secured according to subject-specific standards and archived for at least 10 years.
- Researchers must provide detailed and comprehensible documentation of the research process.
- Researchers decide on access to research data by third parties within the framework of legal requirements.
Open Access Policy
Since 2017, the University of Mannheim has been promoting Open Access in order to make scientific findings freely accessible worldwide and to make a lasting improvement on the dissemination of knowledge.
- Research data such as metadata, software, and source material should be freely accessible worldwide in line with the principles of Open Access.
- The choice of publication channel remains free, although we encourage researchers to retain secondary publication rights for a free-of-charge use.
- Researchers are advised and supported by the University Library on legal and organizational questions relating to Open Access publishing.
DFG recommendations for handling research data
The guideline of the German Research Foundation (DFG) on handling research data emphasizes the key role of research data for scientific integrity and long-lasting progress. Subject-specific recommendations also help to adequately ensure data quality, relevance and reusability in the various disciplines with their specific conditions. Compliance with these guidelines is essential to enable transparency and the exchange of ideas in academia as well as the subsequent use of research data.
FAIR Principles
The goal of the FAIR principles is to promote the efficient use of research data. Data should be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.
FAIR stands for:
- Findable: To ensure that research data can be found in the long-term, they should be adequately described and provided with unique, citable identifiers as well as appropriate descriptive metadata.
- Accessible: Research data and their metadata should be permanently available and made accessible under clearly defined conditions and in accordance with clearly defined protocols.
- Interoperable: To ensure that research data can be effectively combined and used with other data, they should use standardized and, if possible, open formats as well as field-specific vocabulary.
- Reusable: To ensure traceability and reusability in other research contexts, research data must be documented comprehensively and have clear usage licenses.
