Research Data Management

Toronto Metropolitan University Library provides services to help you with Research Data Management (RDM). Managing your data throughout the life of a research project may save you time and effort overall. Thinking about organization, storage and security at the beginning of a project can make it easier to work with your data later on and may also help you to meet privacy requirements. Archiving and sharing data can help to reduce duplication of efforts, improve open science, help you meet funder or journal requirements and has even been shown to increase research impact. You can use Data Management Planning as a RDM starting point. 

The Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy (March 2021) was launched to support Canadian research excellence by promoting sound RDM and data stewardship practices. This policy is not an open data policy.

There are three pillars to the policy: 

1. Institutional Strategies: As of March 1, 2023, research institutions receiving funds from the Tri-Agency are required to post their RDM strategies and share the link with the Tri-Agency so this information can be shared publicly.
2. Data Management Plans: The agencies have identified the initial set of funding opportunities subject to the DMP requirement. 
3. Data Deposit: After reviewing the institutional strategies and in line with the readiness of the Canadian research community, the agencies will phase in the deposit requirement.
   1. CIHR-funded researchers: Since January 1, 2008, recipients of CIHR funding have had to comply with the limited data deposit requirements included in the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications. They must continue to comply with these requirements, which are specific to bioinformatics, atomic, and molecular coordinate data.

For more information about the policy and the requirements, including tools and guidance, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions

Some journals and publishers have data sharing policies and will require you to share your data as a condition of publication.

See below for some examples of publisher data sharing policies: 

• PLOS ONE - Data Availability 
• Nature - Availability of Data
• Frontiers - Materials and data policies

Typically, these policies can be found in the "Information for Authors" or "Author Guidelines" sections of the journal's website. Some journals may recommend specific data repositories. If you have any questions about selecting a data repository, please contact the RDM Librarian at nmulvaney@torontomu.ca 

TMU Libraries has a consultant model of support, where the Research Data Management Librarian provides advice relating to managing research data through email or an in-depth research appointment, or a series of research appointments. This model provides a time-limited level of support and advice, which could include:

• Help navigating funder and publisher RDM policies
• Advice regarding writing a Data Management Plan (DMP)
• Onboarding with DMP Assistant
• Feedback on your DMP. Note: the RDM Librarian does not “approve” DMPs, but can provide advice regarding the level of detail in your plan, and other standards, services and supports you may want to consider. 
• Advice on selecting a data repository
• Onboarding with TMU Dataverse
• Curating your dataset in TMU Dataverse
• Connecting you with other RDM-related supports at TMU: Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI),  Research Ethics Board (REB), Computing and Communications Services (CCS), etc.

TMU students, faculty, instructors and researchers are eligible to receive this level of support. Please be mindful that the RDM Librarian does not have the capacity to act as a Data Manager for your project, cannot write a Data Management Plan on your behalf and may need to refer to you other RDM-related supports at TMU. 

Please contact Research Data Management Librarian Nora Mulvaney at nmulvaney@torontomu.ca for more information about RDM at TMU or to enquire about a research appointment.