Research data management (RDM) refers to how outputs from research projects (e.g. data and code) are handled, organised, and stored. Following best practices in RDM will allow you to better manage your outputs, and will help others to reuse them. In general, it is recommended that research outputs are as open and FAIR (i.e. Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) as possible. Read the national guidelines for the promotion of open science in Sweden and Wilkinson et al. (2016) to learn more about open science and the FAIR principles, respectively.

On this page, you will find information about where to access direct, one-on-one support or general guidance for RDM relevant to infectious disease/pandemic preparedness data generated in Sweden.

Get direct support

Swedish Pathogens Portal

Whilst the portal contains many general guidelines for RDM e.g. how to share data, we also offer direct support for individual projects. To access this, please send an email to pathogens@scilifelab.se or send a messsage via the contact form. You can typically expect a response within one working day.

SciLifeLab Data Management Helpdesk

The SciLifeLab Data Management Helpdesk is operated by experts in RDM from the SciLifeLab Data Centre and National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden (NBIS). The purpose of the helpdesk is to provide direct, customised RDM support for those working in life science research in Sweden. To get in touch, send an email to data-management@scilifelab.se. Alternatively, you can go to the SciLifeLab Research Data Management Guidelines and submit questions via the contact form.

Resources for infectious disease data

ENA submission guidelines

The European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) is a repository for DNA and RNA sequences, including those related to pathogens. Using information from ENA, and their experience with submitting data to ENA, SciLifeLab Data Centre and NBIS have developed a tutorial for ENA submissions. NBIS can also help to broker submissions, should you need further support.

Infectious Disease Toolkit (IDTk)

The Infectious Diseases Toolkit (IDTk) is a community effort to detail best practices in RDM related to infectious disease data, and to showcase solutions developed to deal with the challenges faced during disease outbreaks. This resource was created as part of the Horizon 2020 BY-COVID project, in which the Swedish Pathogens Portal is a partner. The IDTk includes broadly applicable guidance for RDM for multiple different types of data. It also has information on resources specific for infectious disease data in Sweden.

Gobal Alliance for Genomics and Health

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) is an international community dedicated to advancing human health through genomic data. This community develops technical standards, policy frameworks, and tools related to the responsible and secure use of genomic- and health-related data. The Swedish Pathogens Portal is part of the infectious disease community of GA4GH.

General RDM resources

SciLifeLab Research Data Management Guidelines

The SciLifeLab Research Data Management Guidelines is a knowledge hub for the management of life science research data in Sweden. NBIS and SciLifeLab Data Centre have collaborated to bring together information related to best practices for life science RDM in Sweden. Information is available for all stages of the research data lifecycle, from creating a Data Management Plan (DMP) prior to conducting the research to preserving the data after the study concludes.

SciLifeLab Data Stewardship Wizard (DSW)

Data Management Plans (DMPs) are living documents that are first developed before you even begin your study. They help you to determine how to manage your data throughout your project and beyond. The SciLifeLab Data Stewardship Wizard (DSW) is a tool designed to help you to write a DMP that is compliant with the requirements of the Swedish Research Council and others.

SciLifeLab FAIR Storage

SciLifeLab FAIR Storage offers storage resources to support data-driven life science. The service is intended to support data sharing in accordance with the FAIR principles and is available for any project that advances knowledge and discovery within the field of Swedish data-driven life science. The allocation of resources and application process are both managed by SciLifeLab Data Centre.

Research Data Management Kit (RDMkit)

The Research Data Management Kit (RDMkit) is similar to IDTk (see above), except that it contains information on RDM related to life science data in general, rather than just infectious disease data. It contains information relevant for all stages of the research data lifecycle, from planning to preservation.

Swedish National Data Service (SND)

The Swedish National Data Service (SND) has put together guidance for RDM that is applicable to all scientific fields. They also offer relevant tools, events, and training.

See the following pages for information relevant for:

• Planning studies e.g. DMPs, funding applications, ethical reviews, agreements with other parties, and handling personal data.
• Organising data e.g. folder structures and file formats.
• Documenting data.
• Working with data e.g. dealing with errors, loss, and accessing data.
• Preparing and sharing data e.g. reusing data, the FAIR principles, PID (persistent identifiers), licences, embargos, publication, and open access.
• Guides for RDM.

Other useful resources

• Tutorial videos for multiple RDM topics are available on the SciLifeLab Data Management YouTube channel.

• Materials from a day-long workshop on the basics of RDM (Sara El-Gebali, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4562630). It covers topics including FAIR and open data, as well as electronic lab books.

• SciLifeLab Data Centre and NBIS host events to provide support with RDM. Previous presentations from these sessions are available on the SciLifeLab Data Repository.

• RDM-related events are listed on the events page of the SciLifeLab Data Platform.

• Services, tools, and other resources related to RDM are listed on the services page of the SciLifeLab Data Platform.