Research Data Policy

The Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IEM CAS) recognises that research data is a fundamental part of the research activities and management of research data, and in accordance with FAIR principles is a key practice of research integrity. The Institute is committed to ensuring that its research is transparent and reproducible and that its research outputs are widely accessible and reusable. The Institute is of the view that this enhances the quality and impact of research so that this benefits the wider research community as well as individual researchers. Furthermore, this highlights the excellence of the research activities at the institute and enables public engagement with them.

This policy aims to define the basic principles of research data management at all stages of the research data life cycle, mainly: data collection, storage, preservation, and sharing. It is also a statement of the responsibilities of the institute and its researchers concerning the management of research data. This policy further provides information on the available institutional support for researchers to meet the standards outlined in the policy. The Institute recognises that there are different discipline-specific norms across the diverse spectrum of research. Therefore, the policy does not oblige researchers to use prescribed tools when they work with research data. It aims to promote good practice in research data management and provide guidance to researchers. The policy may be complemented by other policies of the institute.

The policy applies to all employees and students at the institute, and affiliated persons and subjects conducting or supporting research activities at the Institute. All research data regardless of their form are covered by this policy.

Research data

Any information collected, observed, generated, or created to validate or reproduce research findings is described as research data. Research data can include, but is not limited to, documents, spreadsheets, images, audio/video, code, and software.

Metadata

All the information and descriptions about the data. For example: type of data, title, authors, year, language, keywords, and description about under which conditions the data are collected.

Data Management Plan

Data Management Plan (DMP) is a document that mainly outlines how research data will be collected, handled, preserved, and published during and after a certain research project. DMPs are usually submitted with grant proposals and updated with each interim and final report. DMP should briefly define:

• How the data will be generated and documented
• Where and how it will be stored
• Who will have access to it
• What the backup strategies are and who is responsible for them
• How it will be preserved and shared/published

FAIR Principles

The FAIR Principles describe how research data should be organised to make it more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

Repository

Digital online storage for storing and sharing the results of creative activities (e.g., publications or research data). They can be:

• Discipline-specific
• Institutional
• Multidisciplinary

Persistent identifier

Long-lasting reference to a unique entity. For example, Digital Object Identifiers (DOI), handle, ORCID, ResearcherID, ROR, etc.

Researcher

The term “researcher” shall include all members of the Institute, including staff and students, and any affiliated persons who are conducting research at the Institute or on behalf of the Institute.

Principal Investigator

A researcher who has overall responsibility for a research project.

4.2 Data sharing/publication

Researchers are encouraged to make their data available for access and reuse as widely as feasible following the principles outlined below:

• The rich metadata is to be provided with shared data to increase FAIRness and provide sufficient information on the provenance of the research data. The metadata should include references, via persistent identifiers, to other related outputs and entities.
• Research data should be assigned a persistent identifier, and shared in a trusted, well-recognised open repository or an appropriate platform established within the specific research field.
• To ensure that the conditions for reuse are specified clearly, research data must be licensed in compliance with intellectual property rights, unless funder requirements, statutory or contractual obligations provide otherwise. Open licenses such as Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) are recommended.
• As far as it is appropriate, the published research should include a data availability statement that outlines how the related data may be accessed.

5.1 Rights and Responsibilities of the Researcher

• Managing scientific publications, research data, and educational resources in accordance with the principles and requirements outlined in this Policy. Preserving machine-readable electronic copies of the scientific publications in the ASEP database, if applicable, including their supplementary files, and persistent identifiers of associated research data published in any other repository, archive, or database.
• When new students are enrolled in the research groups, the Principal Investigator, supervisor, or designated member of the group is responsible for introducing them to the basic principles of handling the data they work with.
• Compliance with the organisational, regulatory, institutional, and other contractual and legal requirements related to the production, curation, management, deposit, and distribution of publications and data if no other agreement with third parties takes precedence.
• Choosing the appropriate type of licensing for their research outputs.
• Adherence to the established citation guidelines when reusing or referencing datasets.
• If researchers encounter difficulties in fulfilling the requirements outlined in this policy due to a lack of appropriate resources or support from the Institute, they are encouraged to seek guidance from the related departments or support teams listed in Chapter 6.

5.2 Rights and Responsibilities of the Institute

• Disseminating information about the obligations of researchers concerning research data management.
• Supporting and empowering the acquisition of skills, and adopting tools related to good practices in research data management. Providing training and guidance to promote best practices in research data management.
• Establishing and maintaining an Institutional Open Access Repository or collaborating with consortial or national repositories containing digital content and providing advanced tools for search, navigation, and Open Access to its content according to international standards.
• Appointing a Data Manager responsible for all data-related matters, including – but not limited to – issues related to the development of Data Management Plans (DMPs), data curation, and compliance with national and European laws.
• Developing and providing services for the storage, safekeeping, registration, deposition, and sharing of data and other records, according to the FAIR principles, as well as their long-term preservation, and providing appropriate guidance to researchers.
• Engaging with the research community to discuss and identify needs in terms of support and infrastructure.

This policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure its continued relevance and effectiveness. Any revisions and amendments will be communicated to the research community.