Research data management

Research data management facilitates research collaboration, makes findings easier to verify and strengthens public trust in science.

ETH Zurich considers Research Data Management (RDM) an essential part of good scientific practice. Robust research data are crucial to any research project and to the credibility of its findings. Research data management facilitates research collaboration, makes results easier to verify and strengthens public trust in science.

ETH Zurich therefore commits to a research environment that supports FAIR research data management. The FAIR principles are internationally recognised guidelines to improve the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reuse of digital assets. The principles emphasise machine-actionability.

The guidelines for research data management (RDM Guidelines) stipulate how data should be handled, in accordance with specifications of the ETH Zurich Integrity Guidelines, particularly concerning publication (Art. 10) and access and use of research data (Art. 11).

The RDM guidelines define the most important terms of research data management and assign responsibilities. They also regulate the use of data management plans, data collection and processing, and specify what must be observed when publishing research data and scientific source codes, as well as when storing and securing data.

It is vital to know that research data always remains at ETH. Research data management also includes determining who is allowed to use data for research purposes during a research project and after its completion, and how it may be used commercially.

The ideal we strive for is Open Research Data (ORD). This entails making research data publicly accessible while always respecting the legal and ethical framework – as open as possible, as closed as necessary. In line with this, the RDM guidelines also list valid reasons for not disclosing research data.

The responsibility for research data management lies with the researchers themselves, including all ETH members who are working in a scientific capacity, i.e. doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers.

Professors and heads of research units bear ultimate responsibility. They ensure that research data management in their group or unit is carried out in accordance with the RDM guidelines and the standards applicable to their particular scientific field.

The departments inform their researchers about research data management at ETH Zurich. They also regulate the continuing use of and responsibility for research data after a professor or lecturer has left.

Academic guests have the option of regulating responsibility for research data through additional contractual agreements.

Ensure that you and your staff are familiar with the research data guidelines and are up to date on introductory and continuing education courses on research data management at ETH Zurich.
Improve the quality and reliability of your research by working with a data management plan and implementing FAIR principles throughout the research cycle.
Share research data and source code on which published research results are based in an appropriate repository.
Enhance the value of your data by i) protecting and describing it in line with the relevant standards in your research field, and ii) creating agreements at an early stage on who may use the data during and after the end of the research project.

ETH Zurich commits at national and international level to provisioning of a sustainable and appropriate infrastructure for research data management, in order to offer its researchers information and services that meet the highest standards.

The ETH Library and Scientific IT Services (SIS) jointly offer a comprehensive training portfolio of courses on various aspects of ORD and RDM. They manage common resources on the ETH website.

Research data management services at ETH:

Services and consulting on FAIR data management of active research data (Research Data Hub and Research Data Nodes, SIS)
Computing platform for management and analysis of confidential research data (Leonhard Med, SIS)
A FAIR research data repository (Research Collection, ETH Library)
Redundant storage infrastructure tailored to users’ needs, e.g. for warm and cold data (see Storage, IT Services)

Research data management:
Queries on Open Science
ETH transfer e.g. prior to publication of research-related software and source codes
Data protection advisers on the handling of personal data and regulation of access to data by external researchers or after completion of a research project