RDM Policy: Key requirements and how to comply

The Open University approved an update to its Research Data Management Policy which came into force on 1st December 2024. The table below outlines the key requirements of the policy and provides further information on how to comply, and where to find additional guidance and support.

Please note that this is only a summary of the main requirements. All those conducting research at the OU should read and familiarise themselves with the full Open University Research Data Management Policy.

For those conducting scholarship, a separate guidance document and Data Management Plan template is currently being finalised, which should be followed instead of using the guidance below. The links to these will be published on this webpage in due course. In the meantime, please contact the Library Research Support team or ask your Scholarship Centre for advice.

See the RDM Policy: Frequently Asked Questions page if you have any queries about this policy after reading the guidance and links below, and contact the Library Research Support team if you need further assistance.

Key Requirement

What this means

Guidance

All projects must create a Data Management Plan and upload them to ORDO (the OU’s research data repository)

Writing a Data Management Plan (DMP) is mandatory for all researchers in all disciplines, including PGRs. Please ensure you have written a plan before commencing your project/ data collection and that you upload a copy of it to ORDO.

Manage data responsibly throughout the research lifecycle

You must ensure that you continue to handle your data ethically, legally and responsibly throughout the life of your project. Put into action the plans made in your Data Management Plan and remember to update it when needed to reflect any changes in practice.

Preserve your data and software

You must deposit your data and/or software in a trusted data repository for long-term preservation/archiving. 

Share your data and software where possible

Data and/or software should be made as open as possible, as closed as necessary.​

If the data/software cannot be shared, the metadata that describes them should be publicly available in a data repository.

  • There may be legitimate ethical, legal or commercial reasons for not being able to publish your data/software. Ensure you clearly justify any restrictions in your Data Management Plan.

  • Where it is not possible to openly publish, consider restricted access options. Many repositories (including ORDO) allow you to embargo files and allow users to request access on a case-by-case basis. Some have more fine-grained access permissions. Contact the Library Research Support Team for help.

  • Even where data/software cannot be shared, they must still be preserved and you should publish the metadata which describes them (i.e. do not place an embargo on the metadata record, just the files themselves).

Generate a metadata-only record on ORDO for data when it is preserved/ shared in a different data repository

If you share your research data in a repository other than ORDO (see guidance on choosing a suitable data repository), you must create a metadata record on ORDO which links to the data. This process is automated for some repositories (see linked guidance for full details).

Use an ORCID when publishing data, to unambiguously link data to specific researchers

You are required to create an ORCID ID for yourself. You can do this for free online by registering on the ORCID website. You will also need to link your ORCID profile to your ORDO account (see linked guidance).

Include a Data Access Statement on all publications

All publications should include a Data Access Statement (sometimes called a Data Availability Statement) which describes where the supporting data/software can be found and under what conditions they can be accessed. 

The policy covers software inaddition to research data

If you produce original software which is required to view datasets, replicate your analyses or validate your research findings, you are required to archive and publish (where legal, commercial and ethical restrictions allow) the source code in a suitable research data repository. Storing it in a source code repository alone (e.g. GitHub) is not sufficient as this does not guarantee preservation. ORDO has an integration which allows you to import your GitHub repositories to ORDO.​ 

 

Contact us

Library Research Support team