Handling research data

An overview of current practices regarding research data at national and international levels, its preservation, applicable guidelines, and technical, organisational and socio-cultural aspects provides an initial introduction to the topic. A specific case study was then used to examine in greater detail the current handling of research data in a university laboratory within the Department of Microbiology. An interview was conducted to evaluate the research environment, data generation and data recording within the research process. The results were analysed from an information science perspective and compared with applicable guidelines and regulations on 'Good Scientific Practice', the ISO 15489 standard on records management and 'Good Laboratory Practice' (GLP).