Data managent in Thesis: Data management steps

Data management planning is part of the thesis plan. A material management plan is drawn up whenever research material is collected or produced for the thesis.

Data management planning is important because:

• it serves as a checklist to ensure that the necessary permission and contract issues, research ethics, and data protection and information security have been taken into account in the planning of the thesis.
• the material remains organized and easy to manage when, for example, recording, processing and description are planned in advance
   

Data management always starts with planning, like the entire thesis project. The data management plan is a part of the thesis plan and in it, all matters relevant to data management are considered. The plan can also be thought of as a checklist or risk management: have all the necessary aspects been taken into account, such as contracts, research permits, data protection or the need for an ethical pre-assessment?

In the implementation phase, material is collected or produced, stored and processed taking into account information security, data protection and research ethics. It is also important to describe or document the material and its processing procedures.

When the material is no longer processed, it should be "packaged". If the material contains personal data or sensitive information such as trade secrets, it is advisable to either delete or anonymize this data as soon as it is no longer needed, but no later than when the thesis project is finished.

The life cycle of the material can also continue even after completion, for example if the material is made available to everyone or handed over to a specific entity for further use. Contracts and the consent of the research subjects may limit the possibilities of further use, so it is worth taking this into account already in the data management plan.