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What is data stewardship?

Data stewardship encompasses a wide range of activities involved in the management of research data. 

These include:

• Research data management planning

• Developing and managing data infrastructure and workflows

• Data wrangling, such as data discovery, cleaning, validating, mapping, and mining

• Creating policies, protocols, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for research data management

• Data curation and preservation

• Generating high-quality metadata for research datasets

• Preparing data for publication or onward sharing, adhering to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) to ensure best practices

• Delivering training around good data management practices

A data steward is someone who manages research data at various stages of its lifecycle. Their involvement may span the entire process or focus on a specific stage of a project. For some, data stewardship is a core part of their role, while for others, it may be an occasional responsibility.

A useful definition from the Irish Data Stewardship Network, Sonraí, states: “Anyone who interacts with data in a significant way, at any point in the research data lifecycle, is a data steward.” This definition includes staff across research, technical, and professional roles.

What is data?

Data comes in many forms and refers to any material created, collected, or gathered during research. Examples include spreadsheets, databases, interviews and transcripts, photos, lab notes, field notes, annotated bibliographies, scans, maps, and more.

Am I a data steward?

While some jobs - like Data Librarian, Data Curator, Bioinformatician, or Data Consultant - are primarily focused on stewardship activities, many roles incorporate data stewardship as one aspect of their responsibilities.

If your role involves tasks like those mentioned above, even if they aren’t formalised in your job description; if you often find yourself managing a project’s research data; or if you’re considered the “data person” in your team, you are a data steward.

How to join the Data Stewards Network?

Are you interested in joining the Network? Please click here to sign up.