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Research Data Management

Data Storage & Backup

Create a plan to safely store and regularly back up your research data. Data loss can be disastrous and take time and money to recreate if possible. Here are a few simple steps to mitigate the risks of data loss:

  • Estimate how much storage space you will need and determine who will need access, what type of access will each team member need, and how they will access the data
    • Keep the number of researchers who can manipulate the data as small as possible to reduce the risk of human error
  • Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule
    • 3 - Have at least 3 copies of your data
    • 2 - Stored on 2 different secure and reliable media (e.g. cloud storage, hard drive, etc.),
    • 1 - With 1 backup copy offsite
  • Backup regularly and, preferably, automatically

Data Sharing

The Tri-Agency RDM Policy encourages researchers to make data available for sharing wherever possible, to promote transparency and reuse of research findings. Data can be shared in various ways, including direct collaboration, utilizing a data repository, or publishing data in conjunction with academic publications.

Why share data?

Openly sharing your research data helps:

  • Ensure transparency and reproducibility
  • Support Open Science
  • Foster collaboration and accelerate scientific progress by making datasets more widely available and usable
  • Improve the impact of your work

Conditions for Sharing:

  • Non-Disclosure: Data sharing must respect any legal, ethical, or contractual obligations that prevent the release of data. This includes privacy concerns, intellectual property rights, and consent restrictions.
  • Ethical Considerations: Sensitive data (e.g., personally identifiable information) must be anonymized or de-identified before being shared.

Depositing Data

Tri-Agency Data Deposit Requirements

The Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy states that

"Grant recipients are required to deposit into a digital repository all digital research data, metadata and code that directly support the research conclusions in journal publications and pre-prints that arise from agency-supported research."

And also:

"The deposit must be made by time of publication. The choice of repository may be guided by disciplinary expectations and the recipient’s own judgment, but in all cases the repository must ensure safe storage, preservation and curation of the data."

Data Repositories

Data repositories are online platforms or databases where research data can be stored, shared, and preserved. Repositories typically provide tools for managing, describing, and accessing data, making it easier for other researchers to find and use the data. 

Disciplinary Repositories

Generalist/Multi-disciplinary Repositories

The Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR) is a Canadian data repository for depositing, preserving and sharing research datasets. FRDR does not support storing restricted data that cannot be publicly accessible.

Borealis is a Canadian dataverse repository supported by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, along with many academic and research institutions. Only authorized users of participating institutions and their collaborators can deposit data into Borealis. Currently, YukonU is not a member of Borealis.

More Resources

Discover Research Data

Multi-disciplinary Data:

Domain-specific Data:

AIRR-seq data (antibody/B-cell and T-cell receptor repertoires)

Free and open access to biodiversity data