Terms and definitions

In the context of the institute-specific RDM policies, various terms related to data, data storage and data management are used. For explanation and definitions of terminology, this list can be used.
Do you miss a term? Don't hesitate to contact RDM support.

  • AnonymizationDe-identification16,17: (GDPR) The processing of personal data with the aim of irreversibly preventing the identification of the individual to whom the data relates by any further processing of that data or by processing it together with other information which is available or likely to be available.
  • Archiving: Saving data within an archive or repository for the long term when the project has concluded. See also: Storage.
  • CRIS: Current Research Information System, Metis for the RU.
  • Biometric data6: (GDPR) Sensitive personal data relating to physical, physiological or behavioral characteristics of a natural person, which allow or confirm the unique identification of that natural person, e.g. facial images or dactyloscopic data.
  • DataResearch data2,3,5,7, 8,9,14: Recorded information, digital and non-digital, gathered, collected, obtained or produced during or as a result of scientific research, and used for scientific development of theories, hypothesis testing, or validation of scientific findings, observations or conclusions.
  • Data management plan (DMP)20: A dynamic and written agreement stating which data will be saved, how it will be saved (file format, version control, metadata) and shared (repository, terms).
  • De-identification: See: Anonymization.
  • Digital Object Identifier (DOI)5: A unique text string that is used to identify digital objects such as journal articles, data sets or open source software releases. A DOI is one type of Persistent Identifier (PID).
  • Documentation13: Any (digital) file such as a codebook, technical or methodology report or user guide, which explain the research data’s production, provenance, processing or interpretation.
  • FAIR data1,5: Data that are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable, in order to facilitate knowledge discovery by assisting humans and machines in their discovery of, access to, integration and analysis of, task-appropriate scientific data and their associated algorithms and workflows.
  • Genetic data6: (GDPR) Personal data relating to the inherited or acquired genetic characteristics of a natural person which give unique information about the physiology or the health of that natural person and which result, in particular, from an DNA, RNA, or protein sequence analysis of a biological sample from the natural person in question.
  • Informed consent: An individual’s agreement on the processing of personal data, based upon an active affirmative act and clear and easy to understand information on the purpose, scope and impact of the data processing.
  • Metadata5,10,11: Documentation and/or information on research data, required to find the data and understand the content and context of the data. Metadata describes (a) the publication or dataset and the research project, including authorship, dates, title, abstract, keywords, PID’s, and license information, and (b) the variables in the datasets, used input files, calibration procedures, etc.
  • Persistent Identifier (PID)5,12: A unique and stable denomination (reference) of a digital resource (e.g. research data) through allocation of a code that is persistently and explicitly referenced on the internet by a service, e.g. DOI and handle.
  • Primary data, Original data: Data gathered, collected, obtained or produced by oneself or co-worker. Re-use or re-analysis of this data by oneself will be re-use of original data. Opposite to secondary data.
  • Personal data18: (GDPR) Any information that relates to an identified or identifiable living individual. Different pieces of information, which collected together can lead to the identification of a particular person, also constitute personal data.
  • Pseudonymization6,16,17: (GDPR) The processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.
  • Raw data3,4: Research data directly arising as a result of experiments, measurements, simulations or observations, without cleaning, recoding, processing or any manipulations that limit future re-use or analyses of the data.
  • Repository5: The infrastructure and corresponding service that allows for the persistent, efficient and sustainable archiving and retrieval of digital objects such as documents, data and code.
  • Research data: See: Data.
  • Research Data management (RDM)15,20,21: The organization of research data, meta-data and documentation throughout the scientific life-cycle, from planning and creation up to dissemination and long-term archiving, to ensure data quality, minimize risks, save time and comply with legal, ethical, institutional and funders’ requirements regarding prescribed standards of research integrity and data reusability.
  • Research project: A scientific endeavor to answer a research question.
  • Secondary data: data produced by other researchers or institutions. Opposite to primary data.
  • Sensitive personal data19: (GDPR) personal data revealing: racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs; trade-union membership; genetic data; biometric data processed solely to identify a human being; health-related data; data concerning a person’s sex life or sexual orientation.
  • Storage: Saving data during the course of a research project. See also: Archiving.

References

  1. Wilkinson, M. D. et al. The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Data 3:160018 doi: 10.1038/sdata.2016.18 (2016)
  2. https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/cross-cutting-issues/open-access-data-management/open-access_en.htm
  3. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/files/uclresearchdatapolicyv6pdf
  4. https://codata.org/initiatives/data-science-and-stewardship/rdm-terminology-wg/rdm-terminology/
  5. https://open-science-training-handbook.gitbook.io/book/glossary
  6. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj
  7. https://www.nwo.nl/beleid/open+science/datamanagement
  8. https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/cross-cutting-issues/open-access-data-management/open-access_en.htm
  9. http://researchdata.ox.ac.uk/home/glossary/
  10. https://www.rug.nl/digital-competence-centre/research-data/?lang=en
  11. https://libguides.uvt.nl/researchintegrity/data-management
  12. https://netwerkdigitaalerfgoed.nl/activiteiten/persistent-identifiers/
  13. https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/research-support/research-data-service/after/data-repository/definitions
  14. https://www2.le.ac.uk/services/research-data/rdm/what-is-rdm/research-data
  15. http://www.mopp.qut.edu.au/D/D_02_08.jsp#D_02_08.04.mdoc
  16. https://iapp.org/news/a/looking-to-comply-with-gdpr-heres-a-primer-on-anonymization-and-pseudonymization/
  17. https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Anonymisation-and-pseudonymisation/1594.htm
  18. https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/what-personal-data_en
  19. https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rules-business-and-organisations/legal-grounds-processing-data/sensitive-data/what-personal-data-considered-sensitive_en
  20. https://www.lcrdm.nl/en/glossary
  21. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/research-support/research-data/best-practices