🔴RDM Guide
RDM Guide
Introduction
The SciLifeLab Research Data Management (RDM) Guidelines provide a structured set of topics intended to guide life‑science researchers in Sweden (and more broadly) through best practices in managing research data. The “Topics” section offers focused guidance on discrete themes that span multiple phases of the research data lifecycle (planning, collection, processing, analysis, preservation, sharing, and reuse) — or that require special regulatory or ethical attention (e.g., human data). Each topic links to deeper guidance, tools, and resources. The table below presents a detailed overview of these topics, summarizing their scope, key considerations, and relevant links for further reading.
Summary Table: Topics in SciLifeLab RDM Guidelines
What is Research Data Management
Cross‑cutting / foundational
Defines RDM: organizing, storing, preserving, sharing data; motivation (ethics, reproducibility, project efficiency) (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
RDMkit — “Your role” guidance (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Data Management Plan
Planning
Guidance on writing & updating a DMP: description, documentation, storage, legal/ethical, long‑term access, responsibilities (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
DMPOnline; SciLifeLab Data Stewardship Wizard (DSW); example DMPs (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Data Transfer
Collection / Movement between systems
Best practices for moving large datasets (network vs physical media), tools like Aspera, project data delivery systems (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
SciLifeLab Data Delivery System (DDS) (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines); UPPMAX transfer tools (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
FAIR Principles
Cross‑cutting / guiding principles
Explanation of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR) principles; actionable subprinciples (F1, F2, …) (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
FAIRsharing.org; original FAIR principles (Wilkinson et al) (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Metadata
Planning, Collection, Sharing
Role of metadata (“data about data”): describing methodology, formats, variables, provenance; use of ontologies, controlled vocabularies, and standards (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Ontology Lookup Service; OBO Foundry; FAIRsharing metadata standards (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
README Files
All phases (especially sharing / reuse)
Advice on human‑readable documentation accompanying datasets: context, structure, how to use the data
(README guidance is internal, linked from main Topics page) (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Sharing Code and Workflows
Analysis / Reuse / Sharing
Best practices for version control, documentation, workflow reproducibility, open sharing of scripts
(Guidance accessible from Topics page) (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
University RDM Resources
Cross‑cutting / Institutional support
Links to institutional services, support units, RDM training and infrastructure within universities
(Institutional resources links via Topics page) (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Working with Human Data
Cross‑cutting / special regulatory domain
Ethical, legal, societal (ELSI) issues when research involves human data; GDPR compliance, pseudonymization, consent, risk assessment
See subtopics below
GDPR and Ethical Review Glossary
N/A (reference)
Glossary of terms relevant to GDPR, ethical oversight, controllers/processors
(Glossary linked within human data section) (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Research Involving Human Data
All phases
Definitions of personal and sensitive data; obligations under GDPR; pseudonymization; legal/ethical planning from project start (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Swedish privacy authority (IMY) GDPR pages, internal university legal offices (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Sharing Human Data
Sharing / Reuse
Conditions and technical approaches for sharing human data (metadata records, controlled‐access repositories, registration of metadata) (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
SciLifeLab Data Repository; AIDA Data Hub; BioStudies; FEGA Sweden (SciLifeLab Data Guidelines)
Last updated