A Research Data Management Policy has been approved for the University.
The policy outlines the obligations of, and key expectations for researchers and the institution in relation to the management and preservation of research data and research related records created, collected, or re-used at the University of Westminster, including the documentation of practice based research.
The policy applies to all University colleagues and doctoral researchers who conduct research. This policy does not apply to taught course students; however, taught course students are encouraged to adopt best practice in research data management.
The policy clarifies the responsibilities of both individual researchers and the institution in relation to good research data management and support.
This policy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Cite this policy: https://doi.org/10.34737/w107v
Responsible data management
The language of the policy takes the form of 'expectations' that will aid the researcher in meeting best practice in research data management.
The policy covers:
- Data management plans
- Preservation of websites created in the course of research
- Data appraisal and retention after project completion
- Publication of FAIR data and justifications for restricting access
- Metadata records
- Data access statements
Policy development
This policy supersedes the University of Westminster Research Data Management Policy 2017.
This policy was written in April 2022 by the Research Data Management Officer and was approved by Academic Council on 7 December 2022 after consultation with the following committees and working groups:
- Research Data Management Working Group (April 2022)
- Graduate School Board (May 2022)
- University Research & Knowledge Exchange Ethics Committee (June 2022)
- Research Committee (June 2022)
- Research & Knowledge Exchange Steering Committee (September 2022)
The policy comes into effect on 8 December 2022 and will be reviewed in December 2025.
Relevant policies
The policy is aligned with UKRI's commitment to making publicly funded research data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable in line with the FAIR data guiding principles, as affirmed by the Common principles on research data (RCUK, 2011) and the Concordat on Open Research Data (pdf) (HEFCE, UKRI, UUK, and Wellcome, 2016).
The policy is also aligned with the University's commitment to open research and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
A full list of relevant internal policies and frameworks are included in Appendix B of the Research Data Management Policy. These include:
- University of Westminster Code of Research Good Practice
- University of Westminster Open Access Policy
- University of Westminster Records Management Policy
- University of Westminster Information Security Policy
- University of Westminster Personal Data Protection Policy
More information
For advice on compliance with University or funder policies on research data, please contact [email protected].