The Presidential Board passed the paper "Handling research data at the University of Oldenburg".
„The University of Oldenburg facilitates open access to research data in accordance with the FAIR principles(The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship, doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18). The aim of this is to promote the quality, productivity and competitiveness of the University’s research. Research data are fundamental to scientific knowledge. The provision and long-term safeguarding of research data facilitates the dissemination of scientific knowledge and the reproducibility of results. Similarly, this data can also be used for further research and for producing future results.
Research data refers to all data generated during a scientific research process. They are generated, collected, observed, simulated or derived depending on the discipline, the research question and using various methods. In accordance with the principle of academic freedom, which is guaranteed by the constitution, university professors are the owners of copyrights and rights of use for the research data they generate. For all other independent researchers, ownership of copyrights and rights of use is subject to the terms of their contractual relationship with the University.
Research data management encompasses all areas of data handeling: the acquisition and description of data, data storage, data backup and data security as well as the release and publication of data. In order to facilitate the provision and re-use of research data, it is also necessary to document and provide information about the context and process in which the data was generated as well as the tools used.
In order to give some structure to the way in which research data is handled, the Presidential Board of the University of Oldenburg recommends that researchers manage their research data in a sustainable manner in accordance with the FAIR principles. Research data must be prepared according to the standards established in the respective fields and the entire research cycle as well as the tools and procedures used must be documented. To this end, the Presidential Board recommends that, similarly to their scientific publications, researchers make their research data publicly accessible as early as possible in suitable and recognised national and international specialist repositories in accordance with the Open Access Policy. In doing so, the scientific and legal interests of the researchers, the protection of personal data of test persons, patients and other persons affected by the collected data as well as other obligations towards third parties must be observed.
The University of Oldenburg supports and encourages researchers in implementing sustainable practices for research data management through the services provided by the Library and Information System (BIS). Assistance is available to researchers to help them develop their data management plans and strategies. The University of Oldenburg’s IT Services department, in coordination with the Presidential Board, provides adequate storage solutions in terms of volume, and thus offers (standard) solutions for the appropriate storage and technical availability of digital research data. Additional specific requirements must be agreed upon and may require additional funding.
