About this reader

Data are the fundament of science. In the last years, awareness for the management of data increases more and more and data management is actively performed and integrated in the research process. This reader aims at further raising awareness for data management in the research community and introduce activities related to data management. The structure of the reader follows the concept of the Data Life Cycle with these steps: propose, collect, assure, describe, submit, preserve, discover, integrate, analyse, and publish. After briefly describing each step and its role, the corresponding data management activities are presented, including best practice examples, tips and further resources.

The disciplinary focus of this “Introduction to Data Management” lies on biology and environmental sciences and quantitative data. Nevertheless, many aspects apply universally to quantitative and qualitative data, not depending on discipline. This reader is for everybody who wants to deepen his or her knowledge on data management. A primer on this topic consisting of factsheets about each step of the Data Life Cycle can be found on the GFBio Homepage (http://www.gfbio.org/data- life-cycle). In this reader, the topics are discussed with more detail.

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