RSP - RDM: Finding Data

Finding Data

You may be creating and collecting entirely new data for your project, but you can often draw on a wealth of data already available to complement or enrich your own research. Given the proper attention to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Data Protection and ethics, you may be able to process existing raw data to create entirely new research outputs.

Benefits of reusing data

There are many reasons why you may wish to reuse data:  

• Reusing data increases work efficiency, as both time and resources are saved.  If data are already available and suitable for reuse, less money and time are required to collect new information.
• Using data that are already available can help to avoid duplication of data collection.
• Using other researchers' data can promote opportunities to expand on their research and broaden knowledge.
• Reusing data that already exists takes less effort to collect than engaging in collecting new data.

When reusing existing data, you must ensure that you use the data in the way that the data owner has specified.  A method which authors and creators of outputs use to provide a clear, regulated method of providing permissions for reuse of works is through Creative Commons licenses.  Those interested in reusing the data then follow the license conditions.

The following table visually explains Creative Commons Licenses and their permissions.

Locating data repositories

The following links will help you locate data repositories that may be of use to you.