The year 2020 was the first full year of operation for the Research Data Services at Tampere University. The Research Data Services is a network of support service actors with the aim to provide the members of the Tampere higher education community with research data management services and tools on a one-stop-shop basis. The foundations of the Research Data Services were set in the Open Science Policy and Action Plan of the Tampere higher education community, and it was conceptualized in a Tampere3 project. The actual operations started in autumn 2019 with the introduction of the service address researchdata@tuni.fi. The Research Data Services is composed of experts from the library, IT services, research services, information security and data protection, records management, the Finnish Social Science Data Archive and TAMK. The network is coordinated by the library.
During 2020 the number of requests processed by the Research Data Services was steadily increasing, with a number of peaks in demand related, among others, to funding calls. The following themes were highlighted among support requests: data management plans (DMP), opening and publishing of data, surveys and interviews (due to COVID-19, especially conducting interviews with Teams and Zoom), and issues related to contracts and retention periods. Since the autumn 2020, also an increasing number of support requests concerning data privacy is processed by the Research Data Services. Typically, several of the themes mentioned above are covered in a single support request. Most of the support requests are processed within the service management system, but some of them are also solved by other types of consultation, such as personal appointments.
In addition to the processing of support requests, major activities for the Research Data Services are maintaining and updating research data management guidelines and guides at the university website and organising training events. In 2020, the number of participants in training was clearly higher than in the past, probably partly due to the fact that the trainings were mainly organised remotely and therefore easy to reach. The up-to-date information on research data management training events can be found on the website of the Research Data Services at tuni.fi/researchdata. We welcome ideas for new training events and trainings are also organized on demand – please contact researchdata@tuni.fi.
At the beginning of this year, data service guidance responsibility was transferred to the newly established University Research Material Management Steering Group, chaired by Vice President for Research Juha Teperi. With regard to the number of support requests received so far and recent development, the year 2021 has had a promising start for the Research Data Services.
Further information: Susanna Nykyri, Head of Open Science Services (susanna.nykyri@tuni.fi, 050 301 5977).
