Tools

The web-based assistant DataWiz supports you in the preparation and documentation of your research data from the very beginning to the end of the research process. The tool also allows you to create data management plans (adapted to requirements of different research funding agencies), to export the entire project or individual studies, to import and export records and to work collaboratively with your research team.

In this section, we also want to introduce some other freely available tools (other than DataWiz) that support researchers in conducting best practice data management:

Data Management Planning

  • DataWiz has the function to export Data Management Plans according to different funding agencies’ requirements.
  • DMPonline is a web-based tool that is hosted by the Digital Curation Center and assists researchers in creating data management plans which are tailored to requirements of British funders and institutions (but also plans for the European Horizon 2020 programme, funding agencies of other European countries and the American National Science Foundation were recently incorporated). The Canadian portage network offers a bilingual English-French version of this tool the DMP assistant that includes templates for Canadian funders and institutions. In Germany, Kiel University is currently developing a German version of DMPonline (project page on GitHub).
  • DMPtool is similar to DMPonline, but is US-based, hosted by California Digital Library and focuses on US American funders and institutions.
  • Within the DMPRoadmap project, the Digital Curation Center and California Digital Library aim to develop and maintain a single open-source platform for DMPs.
  • RDMO (Research Data Management Organizer) aims to support planning, implementation and organization of research data management during the whole project and research data lifecycle. The project is currently still under development but a prototype of the software is available.

Data Management Software

  • In DataWiz you can import and export your data, manage and document it.
  • LORIS is a web-based and open-source data and project management software that can be used for storing and processing clinical, neuroimaging and genetic data. For further reading refer to the introductory article Das, Zijdenbos, Harlap, Vins, Evans (2012; doi: 10.3389/fninf.2011.00037)
  • XNAT is an open-source imaging informatics software platform, focused on offering help for data management in imaging-based research. Its core-functions concern importing, archiving, processing and securely distributing imaging and related study data.

Data Documentation

  • DataWiz assists you in documenting your data with standardized fields. The fields belonging to the study documentation, can be mapped to DDI or Dublin Core standards. When exporting the study documentation  a study description according to DDI-C (DDI 2.5) will be automatically generated. Same applies to the documentation at record level.
  • Collectica offers a set of software tools which help to design, document, and publish statistical data and survey research (only basic features can be used for free).
  • Nesstar Publisher is an advanced data management program which combines tools for data and metadata conversion, documentation and editing, e.g. editing and creating DDI (Data Documentation Initiative) compatible metadata without XML knowledge.

Workflow Documentation

  • R Markdown combines – in a single file – executable R-code, outputs, that result from the execution of this code, and a markup language framework that can be used to write a report based on these results. Therefore, it facilitates transparent documentation of data processing and data analyses.
  • GitHub is a development platform which allows collaborative working on and versioning of code.
  • Open Science Framework is a free web application that aims to support researchers in managing, archiving and sharing their research (data) openly. To integrate workflows, it offers interfaces for a variety of third party software.

Resources

  • equator network  is a library of reporting guidelines in health research.
  • biosharing.org is a curated informative and educational resource on data standards, databases and policies in life, environmental and biomedical sciences.
  • nitrc is a source for neuroinformatic tools and resources that are largely data management related.
  • To enhance research transparency and reproducibility, project TIER provides guidance for documentation and folder and file organization in empirical research projects. Although this guidance was initially developed for social science research, it can be adopted to psychological research as well.

Open Science Practices

  • The p-curve app is designed for detecting p-hacking (selective reporting of statistical analyses and results). Simonsohn, Simmons & Nelson (2014; doi: 10.1037/a0033242) introduce its concept. However, Bishop & Thompson (2016; doi: 10.7717/peerj.1715) discuss the limitations of this procedure.
  • The R package statcheck can be used to check for typing errors in your article. It transforms your pdf-draft to a plain text file and automatically checks, for all statistical tests that follow reporting conventions, test statistics that are included against reported p-values.
  • Curate Science  is a platform that aims to quantify the trustworthiness of empirical research.
  • The open science knowledge base  is a collection of practical resources for researchers interested in using open practices in their work.