Support for Researchers
There are several steps involved in the completion of a Systematic Review. The following Guide to the Systematic Review process provides a summary of the key steps that are involved.
As a Researcher ORCID provides you with a unique identifier
ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between you and your professional activities ensuring that your work is recognized.
ORCID enables collaboration
ORCID provides open tools that enable transparent and trustworthy connections between researchers, their contributions, and affiliations. We provide this service to help people find information and to simplify reporting and analysis.
Research Funding
For research funders, including professional and scholarly associations, ORCID can unambiguously link researchers to their research and the funding programmes that provided support. Understanding the impact of funding is a vital input into future funding strategy and funding programme design.
Research Organisations
For research organisations—universities, research companies, national laboratories, membership organizations—ORCID can reduce the time-consuming process of maintaining up-to-date records, and provides a validation step with updates from trusted sources.
For information on MTUs Open Access Agreements please see our guide
SAGE Research Methods supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process. Nearly everyone at a university is involved in research, from students learning how to conduct research to faculty conducting research for publication. SAGE Research Methods has the answer for each of these user groups, from a quick dictionary definition, a case study example from a researcher in the field, a downloadable teaching dataset, a full-text title from the Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences series, or a video tutorial showing research in action.
SAGE Research Methods is the ultimate methods library with more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos by world-leading academics from across the social sciences, including the largest collection of qualitative methods books available online from any scholarly publisher. The site is designed to guide users to the content they need to learn a little or a lot about their method. The Methods Map can help those less familiar with research methods to find the best technique to use in their research. Built upon SAGE’s legacy of methods publishing, SAGE Research Methods is the essential online tool for researchers.
MTU recognises that research data is a valuable institutional asset and expects, as per the University’s Research Data Management (RDM) policy, that all researchers manage their data to the highest standards throughout the research lifecycle, as part of the University’s commitment to research excellence.
This page contains guidance on RDM, completing a data management plan, how to apply the FAIR data principles of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability, and how to choose a data repository to store your data.
Data Management Planning Services
A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a document that explains how collection and management of the data utilised or generated throughout the lifecycle of research project are expected to occur. Many research funders require a DMP to be created, with any changes updated and notified to ensure compliance with funding requirements.
MTU’s Research Data Management Policy states that “All new research proposals should include a research data management plan (DMP) or protocols that explicitly address data capture, management, integrity, confidentiality, retention, sharing and publication”.
Create your Data Management Plan with DMPonline
MTU Library subscribes to DMPonline, which helps researchers to create, review, and share data management plans that meet institutional and funder requirements.
Create your MTU DMPonline account here (ensuring to input Munster Technological University as your organisation) for access to funder DMP templates, completed DMPs and guides to completing your own.
The below video shows the features of DMPonline from creating an account, beginning a DMP based on a funder template, adding contributors to the DMP, and accessing a completed live example of that template.
FAIR Data
MTU’s research data management policy states (with reference to the European Code of Conduct for Research) that “Research data should be compliant to the principles of FAIR data (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-Useable)”
These principles, “allow findings to be verified, reproduced and digitally preserved; and therefore, are fundamental to high quality research outputs and research integrity.” Most funder DMPs will require you to follow these principles also.
They are explained by Foster Science as follows:
Findable:
The first thing to be in place to make data reusable is the possibility to find them. It should be easy to find the data and the metadata for both humans and computers. Automatic and reliable discovery of datasets and services depends on machine-readable persistent identifiers (PIDs) and metadata.
Accessible:
The (meta)data should be retrievable by their identifier using a standardized and open communications protocol, possibly including authentication and authorisation. Also, metadata should be available even when the data are no longer available.
Interoperable:
The data should be able to be combined with and used with other data or tools. The format of the data should therefore be open and interpretable for various tools, including other data records. The concept of interoperability applies both at the data and metadata level. For instance, the (meta)data should use vocabularies that follow FAIR principles.
Re-usable:
Ultimately, FAIR aims at optimizing the reuse of data. To achieve this, metadata and data should be well-described so that they can be replicated and/or combined in different settings. Also, the reuse of the (meta)data should be stated with (a) clear and accessible license(s).
In summary, uploading well managed research data to a recognised data repository (see guidance below) will provide PID’s, such as a DOI, along with recognised metadata, language standards and licensing best suited to the data to make it FAIR.
Research Data Storage
Selecting a Data Repository
In deciding where to store your research data, base your choice in the following order of preference:
1. Check your funder requirements: your funder(s) may mandate which repository you should use and they may also have other criteria about the period of storage or the use of embargoes.
2. Use an external data archive or repository already established for your research domain to preserve the data according to recognised standards in your discipline. Such a repository can be searched for at re3data.org. On top of specific research disciplines you can filter on access categories, data usage licenses, trustworthy data repositories (with a certificate or explicitly adhering to archival standards) and whether a repository gives the data a persistent identifier.
3. If your discipline does not have a recognised data repository, deposit in a cost-free, established, trusted, general data repository such as Zenodo or Figshare
When choosing a repository it is important to consider factors such as whether the repository:
– Gives your submitted dataset a persistent and unique identifier. This is essential for sustainable citations (both for data and publications) and to make sure that research outputs in disparate repositories can be linked back to researchers and grants.
– Provides a landing page for each dataset, with metadata that helps others find it, tell what it is, relate it to publications, and cite it. This makes your research more visible and stimulates reuse of the data.
– Helps you to track how the data has been used by providing access and download statistics.
– Responds to community needs and is preferably certified as a ‘trustworthy data repository’, with an explicit ambition to keep the data available in the long term.
– Matches your particular data needs (e.g. formats accepted; access, back-up and recovery, and sustainability of the service). Most of this information should be contained within the data repository’s policy pages.
– Offers clear terms and conditions that meet legal requirements (e.g. for data protection) and allows reuse without unnecessary licensing conditions.
– Provides guidance on how to cite the data that has been deposited.
– Is there a service cost involved?