RDM Tools
An overview of recommended Research Data Management tools and services that can help you at different stages of your research.
View the content of this page
Planning & Preparation
Data Management Plan writing
License: Free with an institutional account
DMPonline is a web-based platform for writing your Data Management Plan, containing your funder's DMP templates and UHasselt Guidance. More information on DMP
Application DMP
License: not applicable
Institutional guidance for answering the 5 data management plan questions when applying for funding at FWO or BOF-IOF.
GDPR checklist
License: not applicable
All processing of personal data must be clearly documented in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) register. A GDPR checklist can be linked to a submission to the ethics committee (GDPR checklist for the Committee for Medical Ethics (CME) / GDPR checklist for the Social and Societal Ethics Committee (SMEC) (Dutch / English)) or separate from ethics advice, in which case one should complete the general GDPR checklist.
Ethical Committees @ UHasselt
License: not applicable
Webpage on Responsible Research, including information on the ethical requirements before the start of the work package that contains the ethically sensitive research activities (including human subjects, animals, dual-use, genetic resources).
Templates Medical Ethical Committee UHasselt
License: not applicable
Webpage from the medical ethical committee at UHasselt, providing guidance and templates for informed consent forms, patient identification log, and delegation log.
EU projects - Ethics & Data Protection Decision Tree
License: not applicable
Webpage for applicants or grantees of EU-funded projects with the Ethics and Data Protection Decision Tree to receive general and specific recommendations. More information on Ethical Guidance for EU projects.
File organization
Rename Multiple Files
License: free
Bulk Rename Utility is an application to quickly rename multiple files, folders, etc.. Available via the UHasselt Software Center or via:
Folder structure
License: free
Download a "basic" template folder structure to organize the data of your research project.
Dupeguru
License: free
Maintain a tidy home for your research data by cleaning or deleting intermediate files, unnecessary files, old versions, and duplicates. Dupeguru is a tool that provides a clear overview of duplicates and large files. available via the UHasselt Software Center or via:
Code Management
Git
License: free
Git is a high-quality version control system on your local device, available via the UHasselt Software Center or via:
Github
License: free (Github Enterprise access Github Campus Program)
GitHub is a cloud-based platform to store and maintain Git repositories facilitating collaboration. Available via the UHasselt Software Center or via:
Semantic Changelog
License: not applicable
Example of a standardized way to describe why and how changes were made to software code.
Documentation & Metadata
Examples of documentation
License: not applicable
Data documentation can take different forms. Check the Data Management page on the topic Documentation for specific examples such as protocols, codebooks, etc.
Readme.txt
License: not applicable
Freely available template of a readme.txt file, which is standardized documentation describing all information that might be necessary for peers or your future self to understand and (re)use the research data.
Metadata standards
License: not applicable
When documenting data, you can opt for a standardized machine-readable metadata file. Preferably, use a metadata standard used in your research domain or by the data repository you will use to publish your data. Via FAIRsharing you can search for domain-specific metadata standards or else use a generic metadata standard (e.g, Dublin Core).
ERN - Signals Notebook
License: License via RDM helpdesk
Cloud-based discipline-specific Electronic Research Notebook for Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Document your research in a digital equivalent of a paper lab notebook and easily share your work with collaborators, additional feature: molecular drawings.
ERN - ElabFTW
License: License via RDM helpdesk
Cloud-based discipline-specific Electronic Research Notebook for general use. Document your research in a digital equivalent of a paper lab notebook and easily share your work with collaborators.
Open Science Framework
License: free
A cloud-based web platform that can be used as an Electronic Research Notebook for generic use (video: how to), including a file organizer with a wiki and sharing/collaboration options.
Storage at UHasselt
UH Storage Guide
License: not applicable
The UH Storage Guide is a guide through the range of IT solutions for storing and managing data at Hasselt University. Depending on your demands, the possible solutions are shown.
Google Shared Drive
License: free with an institutional account
Google Shared Drive is the recommended cloud-based storage solution at Hasselt University for all data related to your research project. Features: access control, version history, and allowing data sharing with collaborators during the project. Request a new Google Shared Drive via IT Self Service Desk:
Large Volume Storage
License: free with an institutional account
Flemish Supercomputer Center (Vlaams Supercomputer Centrum - VSC) is a high-performance research computing environment for large datasets and scientific computing.
Automated Back-up
License: free
SyncBackFree allows you to automatically backup, synchronize, or mirror your files and folders from and to various destinations.
Electronic Data Capture (EDC)
License: license fee via christophe.smeets@uhasselt.be
Using an EDC is required for clinical trial research projects. At Hasselt University, Castor EDC is provided, a secure web application to build and manage your electronic case report form, online surveys, and databases. More information.
UHasselt On-Premise storage
By the end of 2024, IT services will provide an on-premise network storage solution at Hasselt University. Is Google Shared Drive providing insufficient storage space or proving to be impractical for you? Apply to be contacted for more information.
Security
De-identification techniques
Overview of de-identification techniques for various types of data and variables.
Encryption
The use of encryption of files (e.g., Google, Microsoft), folders (e.g., 7-Zip), or a complete hard disk (e.g., Bitlocker) for storage or data transfer/sharing (Belnet Filesender) is strongly recommended by the GDPR as well as to protect confidential data.
Password manager
License: free
Password reuse is not recommended, and therefore using a password manager is recommended to remember dozens of passwords. Features include: generating secure passwords, storing passwords, and a master key for security. Available via the UHasselt Software Center or via:
Data breach
Report a security incident that affects the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of personal data. (e.g., loss of data, unauthorized access) via the UHasselt Service Desk - Data Breach / Data Lek
Archiving & Publishing
Domain-specific repositories
License: free
FAIRsharing is a tool to search for a suitable domain-specific repository to preserve and share your data after your research project. An alternative tool is Re3Data.
Generalist Repository Comparison Chart
License: not applicable
This chart is designed to assist researchers in finding a generalist repository should no domain repository be available to preserve their research data. Generalist repositories accept data regardless of data type, format, content, or disciplinary focus.
Open File Formats
License: not applicable
Overview of preferred and sustainable file formats for data preservation and archiving. This typically means using open or standard formats instead of proprietary ones.
License chooser - Datasets
License: free
When sharing your research data, selecting a suitable reuse license (more info) for your data is crucial so that other researchers clearly know under which conditions they can or cannot reuse your data.
Need support in determining the license conditions? Contact RDM helpdesk.
Open Science Framework
License: free
OSF offers a cloud-based platform designed to help teams collaborate in one centralized location; it is also used to share part or all of a research project or its outputs, such as preregistrations, preprints, code, data, protocols, etc. Note: not recommended for personal data.
FAIR data
FAIR knowledge quiz
License: free
FAIR-Aware checklist comprises ten questions about the FAIR Principles, assessing your knowledge of the principles and providing guidance to improve your knowledge about FAIR.
FAIRness self-assessment
License: free
Self-Assessment Tool to Improve the FAIRness of Your Dataset, SATIFYD, is a questionnaire to assess how FAIR your dataset is and provides tips to improve the FAIRness before submitting your data to a data repository.
Automated FAIRness assessment
License: free
F-UJI is a web service that automatically assesses how FAIR your dataset or software is after submitting your data to a data repository.
Open Data Explorer
License: free
Platform providing a ready-to-use interactive computing platform where open access research data is directly available for computing.