Data managent in Thesis: Data management in thesis

Table of Contents for the Data Management Guide

The Data Management Guide for Theses is intended to support both students working on their thesis and the teachers supervising them.

The guide can also be utilized in other teaching contexts.

You can find the information on the tabs of the guide.

• Data management in a thesis
• Research ethics: How data management relates to research ethics, good scientific practice, and the need for research permits.
• Data management steps from planning to execution and completion.
• Collection of personal data in a thesis: What personal data is, considerations when collecting it, and how to anonymize data.
• Thesis with a commissioning party: How the agreement covers data collection and registration requirements.
• Thesis without a commissioning party: Handling personal data jointly between the student and Haaga-Helia.
• Data security and storage: Recommendations for secure data storage.
• Upon the completion of the thesis: Steps for handling data after the thesis is finished.
• Additional materials: Links to further resources on data management and good scientific practice.

Research method = how you collect and analyze research data
Research data = the data you analyze
Source literature / research literature = the knowledge base or theoretical framework for your research, such as books and research articles you use as sources
 

The data management is important because…

• It is part of good scientific practice, which applies not only to actual scientific research but also to theses, teaching and supervision. Haaga-Helia, like other higher education institutions, is committed to following good scientific practice.
• Planning data management and implementing the plan are risk management. Laws, contracts and research ethics also apply to thesis materials. Planning is especially important when collecting personal data or other sensitive information, such as trade secrets.
• The collected material remains reliable, which means that reliable results can also be obtained from it.
• Good data management makes it easier to write a thesis. When files are stored systematically, they are easy to find.
• Data management practices are useful in working life, so it's worth practicing them when doing your thesis.
• If you wish to open the material or use it further after the thesis is completed, the material must be of high quality and well managed. Then the life cycle of the material does not end with the thesis but can be of wider social benefit.
   

Good data management is an essential part of the thesis, and it includes several different areas:

1. The data management plan is part of the thesis plan:
   
   Bachelor's Degree Thesis Plan
   Thesis topic proposal Master's Thesis
   
   This is a tool that guides the author to think about the use of materials systematically throughout the entire thesis process. The plan records how materials are created, organized, named, stored and managed in a secure manner.
2. Data collection, processing, description and storage: These processes should be well planned and implemented sensibly. The purpose of data management is to ensure that the authors follow good scientific practice when processing their data.
3. Obtaining approvals: Permit matters should be taken care of as early as possible. If you want to archive material containing personal data for further use, you must also ask permission from the subjects in advance.
4. Ethical pre-assessment: In some cases, the thesis requires an ethical pre-assessment. The evaluation is based on the research plan, and it must be done before starting the thesis.
5. Storage and disposal of data: Good data management also facilitates the storage and disposal of data. The material management plan describes how research materials are managed during the research project and after the active phase of the project.
    

The material of the thesis means the material collected, produced and analyzed by the student. The results of the thesis are justified with the material.

Different materials and different quantities are created in the making of theses. Materials may include, for example:

• Survey and interview materials: These may contain answers to surveys or interviews aimed at a specific target group.
• Images and videos: These can be, for example, photos, videos or other visual materials.
• Measurement results: These can be, for example, the results of laboratory measurements or field measurements.
• Notes made by the author of the thesis: These may contain the author's observations, thoughts and ideas during the research.
• Software and source codes: These can be, for example, computer programs or program code that has been used during the thesis.
• Samples: These can be, for example, biological samples, such as blood or tissue samples.
• Organized collections: These can be, for example, archival materials, library materials or other organized collections.

Since the material confirms the results of the thesis, it is worth paying attention to its quality and processing. If the material used as a basis for the results is not reliable, the results of the thesis are not reliable either.

Theses may also contain materials that have not been collected in digital form and that, for one reason or another, cannot be converted to digital form either. These can be various samples, physical objects or paper material. The practices of responsible material management also apply to physical materials.