Research Data Management Policy
Good research data management practices allow Bates College and its researchers to meet
funder, ethical, legal, and other obligations. This Policy describes the shared responsibilities and
expectations for the retention, disposal, and access of research data generated at Bates College
regardless of funding or external collaborations.
This policy must be followed by anyone whose research project is Bates-sponsored or
supported, including external funding via a grant or gift. However, we strongly encourage
everyone to follow the policy for every project because, by doing so, you ensure that your
research data are properly protected during the life of the project and into the future.
Ownership
The ownership of research data generated by researchers is governed by Bates’ Intellectual
Property Policy. Bates College has a functional interest in works for which the college has a
contractual or legal obligation, and data resulting from a Bates-sponsored award remains the
responsibility of the College until all legal and award-stipulated data management issues have
been fully resolved.
Responsibilities
General Considerations
All Bates faculty, staff, and students who engage in research or conduct research on behalf of
the College are responsible for ensuring that the data they collect and/or generate are managed
using methods consistent with Federal and State law and college policies. The lead researcher of
any project or the supervising faculty member of student research is responsible for ensuring
this policy is followed.
Research Data Management and Sharing (RDMS) Plan
Researchers planning to engage in externally- or internally-sponsored or supported projects that will collect and/or generate research data must, before initiating their project, coordinate with the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPaRC) and Information & Library Services (ILS) to develop a Research Data Management and Sharing Plan by completing a Research Data Management and Sharing Plan (RDMS) Worksheet. The RDMS Worksheet will document all anticipated data and scholarly products, expectations for location and timeline of storage, and plans for sharing data.
If researchers have data management needs from unsponsored projects, completion of the
RDMS worksheet is recommended to ensure adequate retention of valuable research data.
Research data not tied to RDMS plans will be deleted immediately when the researcher’s
employment is terminated.
Annual RDMS Plan Review
Researchers who have an established RDMS plan are required to complete the RDMS Annual
Review form annually, within 30 days of the research project start date anniversary, to
accommodate and record any necessary changes. Researchers will be contacted by SPaRC prior
to the anniversary date with directions for completing this update. Annual updates will be
reviewed by SPaRC and ILS jointly and are subject to SPaRC approval. This review will continue
each year until it is explicitly communicated and understood by the researcher, SPaRC, and ILS
that all data management compliance issues have been fully satisfied.
Retention & Disposal
To ensure effective handling, curation, and archiving of research data, Bates requires that data
be retained for a minimum of three (3) years following the completion of the research project
and any applicable report submission (see Record Retention Schedule). Research data
generated and/or collected in whole or in part from a sponsored project are maintained
according to applicable State and Federal laws and regulations, funding agency requirements,
and College policies. Barring any legal constraints, sponsored project data must be retained for a
minimum of three (3) years after the project’s final financial report has been submitted, or the
period required by the applicable sponsor, whichever is longer, with original data retained
wherever possible.
All research data from human participant research studies must be maintained in a manner
consistent with the approved IRB protocol and IRB Policy.
Audit and Investigation Considerations
All research data that includes intellectual property, ongoing or pending audits, investigations,
or lawsuits (including reasonably anticipated lawsuits) should not be destroyed, damaged, or
altered (even if the records retention date has expired) until the matter has been resolved and
the lead researchers have been specifically advised in writing by the Dean of Faculty’s office or
the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance, as appropriate, that such data may
be destroyed.
Data Disposal Requirements
If the records retention period has expired, the research data is not appropriate for long-term
storage or official archiving by Bates, and the data is not subject to additional sponsored project
or legal obligations, the data must be disposed of in a secure and timely manner. Before
disposal, researchers should consult with the Bates Archivist.
Research data maintained with Bates IT infrastructure (including but not limited to Google
Drive, Bates-controlled network storage, personal computers, and equipment-associated computers, etc.) and not subject to additional sponsored project retention requirements will be
deleted no later than six months following termination of an employee by Human Resources.
Sharing and Transfer of Research Data
When an externally funded researcher plans to leave Bates, the Dean of Faculty office will
inform SPaRC to ensure compliance with data maintenance, access, retention, and disposition
responsibilities and requirements.
Data resulting from a Bates-sponsored award remains the responsibility of the college until all
legal and award-stipulated data management issues have been fully resolved. Lead researchers
of a Bates-sponsored award who are leaving the College and desire to transfer a copy of these
research data must contact SPaRC to coordinate an explicit data transfer agreement with the
Dean of Faculty.
Data wholly owned by a researcher leaving the College will be deleted from all Bates IT
infrastructure no later than six (6) months after employment termination by Human Resources.
Transfer of these data from Bates IT infrastructure is the sole responsibility and at the discretion
of the departing researcher.
Storage Resources
Data must be maintained within the faculty member’s scholarship section of Etna. A folder
should be created for each project and named using the following convention: Last name of
Bates PI_Grant # (if applicable)_Shortened Project Title. If the Bates PI needs to share any of the
data with a non-Bates collaborator, a shared drive should be created within Google Drive and
that shared drive should be named exactly as the Etna folder is named.
Research data may also reside in storage resources maintained by third parties, such as
cloud-based network storage (e.g. Dropbox, GIT) or discipline-specific archives (e.g. Dryad,
PDB), however, the College must maintain access to those resources. Use of a third party must
be detailed in the RDMS Annual Review Form, including necessary access information.
When research data includes physical materials that need to be retained before the start of the
project researchers are required to consult with their department chair to determine adequate
storage locations for the materials. This information should be included as part of their RDMS
plan.
Definitions
Research Data, for this Policy, is all information in whatever form (e.g., both physical and
electronic) collected and/or generated in the course of research conducted at Bates, under the
auspices of the Bates, or with Bates resources. This includes original and derivatives of research
data, including recordings of such data. Examples of research data can be found here.
Research Data Management and Sharing Plan is a concise cradle-to-grave “life cycle” narrative
for the products of your scholarship that describes how the research data will be collected,
stored, analyzed, preserved, and shared.
Sponsored Projects are those funded by external funding sources and/or designated specifically
to support research and scholarly work.
Unsponsored Projects are those not supported by external funding sources and/or designated
specifically to support research and scholarly work.
Research Data Management Policy, Version 1.0, Effective: May 13, 2024