Why is data management important?

Why is it important to archive research data after publication?

All data published within the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES) is archived for two purposes:

1. verification (safeguarding scientific integrity)
2. safekeeping of valuable datasets (remote backup)

This research data management policy has primarily been implemented as a result of the increasing awareness that institutes should always keep copies of original datasets, which can be used in case of doubt of scientific integrity of members of the institute. In addition, safe storage of original data is good practice to prevent unwanted loss of datasets, for example in case of fire damage, loss or theft of data storage media and archives. A recent study by Vines et al. (Current Biology, 2013) indicated that the odds of a data set being extant fell by 17% per year over a range of 20 years. Safe storage at a central location will facilitate the future accessibility of data sets after first publication. All research data is stored on the central data wiki per senior staff member. All archives on the wiki are included in the automatic (daily) backup schedule of the wiki servers.