Empowering students: New resources for research data management

Students at the bachelor's and master's levels can often be overlooked when it comes to research data management (RDM). Yet, they are not only the next generation of researchers, they are often doing research themselves. Recognizing this gap, data stewards from Leiden University, Radboud University, University of Twente and now the University of Groningen came together to form a working group to investigate this topic, aiming to develop accessible and practical resources that provide much-needed information about research data management across disciplines.

Research Data Management guidebook for students

To address the gap in the need for providing research data management resources to students, the working group has created an RDM guidebook and user guide for students, which provides an introduction to students (Bachelor's and Master's) to research data management.

Research Data Management checklist for students

This additional practical checklist for Bacehlor's and Master's students includes things to consider or do for each phase of the research life cycle: before, during, and after research. There is a checklist for research data, and an additional checklist to consider if students are working with personal or sensitive data. 

User guide on resources for supervisors and lecturers

We have prepared a user guide to help lecturers, programme coordinators and research project supervisors incorporate both of these resources into their work. This document provides additional information, such as the target audience and lists some examples of how they can support learning. We will continue to update this guide with real examples of how these resources are being used in universities to support the research data management of students.

Call to action: Share, use and give feedback

These resources give a good foundation of best practices in data management and get students on the right track when it comes to reliable, responsible and reusable research. They are designed to be general so that they are usable for all and general to any university. If you are a student, or supervise or teach students in research or academic skills, these resources could be useful for you.

The guidebook and checklist are openly shared on Zenodo and since their launch in December 2025 have already been viewed over 800 times. The working group is still actively looking for engagement, use cases and feedback in order for the materials to develop and evolve. For any questions or suggestions, contact Katherine Marcoux or Lauren Seex.