Schedule overview
1 Purpose
To outline the University's management of digital Research Data under the framework of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) Data principles and CARE (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility and Ethics) Data Principles for Indigenous Data.
2 Scope
This schedule must be read in conjunction with the Research Data and Primary Materials Management Procedure and is subordinate to it.
3 Schedule
3.1 Research Data Management Planning
Researchers (including Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Students) are recommended to document Research Data management planning, by using a Research Data Management Plan. The Research Data Management Plan should be considered as a working document and should be updated as required.
3.2 FAIR Data Principles
Researchers and HDR Students should ensure their data is in accordance with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) Data Principles.
The FAIR Data principles are designed to:
- Support knowledge discovery and innovation both by humans and machines.
- Support data and knowledge integration.
- Promote sharing and reuse of data.
- Be applied across multiple disciplines and help data and Metadata to be in a form that a computer can process.
- Support new discoveries through the gathering and analysis of multiple datasets and outputs.
Translating the FAIR principles into practice will vary for each discipline. Please refer to the Australian Research Data Commons for further information.
For further support and training regarding the FAIR and CARE Principles, please contact eResearch Services and the Library's Research Support Team.
3.2.1 Findable
Research data should be discoverable by:
- assigning a persistent identifier (such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or Handle). Where Researchers and HDR Students add Metadata to the University's Research Management system, a DOI will be provided. For questions regarding DOI's, please contact the Library's Research Support Team.
- using rich Metadata to describe the data.
- linking to an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCiD). ORCiD is a unique persistent identifier that distinguishes between individual researchers. Please refer to the ORCiD webpage for further information; and
- ensuring it is findable through disciplinary discovery portals (local and international).
The University offers secure digital storage facilities that are suitable during the active phase of a project, as they allow the University to be aware of data that has been created by the University and is then findable internally.
Researchers and HDR Students are encouraged to deposit their work in the University's secure digital storage facilities, or other discipline related repositories with stable identifiers and Metadata.
For the University's secure digital storage facilities, please refer to the eResearch services webpage.
Once a project is completed, Researchers and HDR Students are encouraged to use the institutional repository or other Research Data portals with stable identifiers to describe and make their Research Data findable.
3.2.2 Accessible
Metadata should be open and accessible to humans and machines, permitting any restrictions.
Researchers and HDR Students may choose to have their datasets as public and as restricted as necessary. This includes Public, Internal and Restricted access.
Where the datasets are not able to be publicly available, the Metadata should be available with information regarding the restrictions on access and reuse.
Data access may be restricted in cases involving Sensitive Information. For data containing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Communities, please refer to the Research Data and Primary Materials Management Procedure and section 3.3 below.
3.2.3 Interoperable
Data and Metadata should conform to recognised languages, formats, and vocabularies to allow them to be combined and exchanged. This ensures data can be easily found and used by different systems. For example, Research data may be described using recognised international standards such as Dublin Core or DataCite Metadata Schema and may be classified using the Australian Fields of Research Codes.
Metadata should reference and describe relationships to other data, instruments, and software.
3.2.4 Reusable
Researchers and HDR students should obtain a machine-readable license. To be reusable, Research Data requires a clear machine-readable licence and provenance information on how the data was formed. Further, it should have discipline-specific data and Metadata standards to give it rich contextual information that will allow reuse.
The University recommends that Researchers and HDR Students choose the most suitable license for their needs, for example Creative Commons Attribution Licence 4.0. Please refer to the Creative Commons webpage for further information on the various licences that are available.
3.3 CARE Principles
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reaffirms Indigenous rights to maintain, control, protect and develop their Indigenous cultural heritage embedded in their languages, knowledge, practices, technologies, natural resources, and territories (i.e., Indigenous data).
Data pertaining to Indigenous Peoples, whether it is cultural, linguistic, medical or otherwise should be managed and shared with care and considerations of self-determination and the right of people to have a say about managing their cultural heritage in ways that are meaningful to them.
The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance are people and purpose-oriented, reflecting the crucial role of Research Data in advancing Indigenous innovation and self-determination. These principles complement the FAIR Research Data Principles.
For further support and training regarding the CARE Principles, please contact the eResearch Services or the Library's Research Support Team.
3.3.1 Collective Benefit
Research Data infrastructures should be designed and function in ways that enable Indigenous Peoples to derive benefit from the data.
Researchers and HDR Students should ensure any value created from Indigenous data should benefit Indigenous Peoples and Communities in an equitable manner and contribute to Indigenous aspirations for wellbeing.
3.3.2 Authority to Control
Indigenous Peoples rights and interests in Indigenous Data should be recognised and their authority to control such Research Data be empowered. Indigenous Data Governance enables Indigenous Peoples and governing bodies to determine how Indigenous Peoples, as well as Indigenous lands, territories, resources, knowledges, and geographical indicators, are represented and identified within Research Data.
Where Researchers and HDR Students are working with Indigenous data, full control and authority should be provided to the Indigenous People and Communities, where the Indigenous data originates from.
3.3.3 Responsibility
Researchers and HDR Students working with Indigenous Data have a responsibility to share how the Research Data is used to support Indigenous Peoples' self-determination and collective benefit. Accountability requires meaningful and openly available evidence of these efforts and the benefits accruing to Indigenous Peoples.
Researchers and HDR Students are responsible for ensuring the Indigenous Peoples rights and interests are protected when using Indigenous Data.
Informed consent of a group or people (in addition to individual participants within that group), is required where the collective rights, interests or knowledge of Indigenous Peoples are involved. For informed consent to be valid it requires mutual understanding of the benefits and risks.
Researchers and HDR Students are responsible for obtaining free, prior, and informed consent from Indigenous Peoples and Communities, when working with Indigenous data. Researchers and HDR Students are required to outline on their ethics application that they have obtained informed consent when they propose to work with Indigenous People and use Indigenous data.
3.3.4 Ethics
Indigenous Peoples' rights and wellbeing should be the primary concern at all stages of the data life cycle and across the data ecosystem.
Researchers and HDR Students should comply with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research.
The AIATSIS Code of Ethics is structured according to four principles that underpin ethical and responsible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research, which are:
- Indigenous self-determination
- Indigenous leadership
- Impact and value
- Sustainability and accountability.
Each principle includes a set of responsibilities that Researchers and HDR Students should adhere to when conducting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research.
4 References
Nil.
5 Schedule Information
| Accountable Officer | Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) |
| Responsible Officer | Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) |
| Policy Type | University Procedure |
| Policy Suite | |
| Approved Date | 18/1/2022 |
| Effective Date | 18/1/2022 |
| Review Date | 18/1/2027 |
| Relevant Legislation | |
| Policy Exceptions | |
| Related Policies | ICT Information Management and Security Policy |
| Related Procedures | Commercialisation of Intellectual Property Procedure Intellectual Property Procedure Records and Information Management Procedure |
| Related forms, publications and websites | Australian Research Data Commons AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Cloud Computing Use Inherent Risk Schedule Australian National Data Service Global Indigenous Data Alliance Ethical guidelines for research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples UniSQ Library Research Support Services The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance Operationalizing the CARE and FAIR Principles for Indigenous data futures |
| Definitions | Terms defined in the Definitions Dictionary |
| Information should be classified as Internal when the unauthorised disclosure, alteration, or destruction of that Information could result in a moderate level of risk to the University. By default, all Information Assets that are not explicitly classified as Restricted Information or Public Information should be treated as Internal Information. A reasonable level of Security Controls s...moreInformation should be classified as Internal when the unauthorised disclosure, alteration, or destruction of that Information could result in a moderate level of risk to the University. By default, all Information Assets that are not explicitly classified as Restricted Information or Public Information should be treated as Internal Information. A reasonable level of Security Controls should be applied to Internal Information. Access to Internal Information must be requested from, and authorised by, the Information System Custodian. Access to Internal Information may be authorised to groups of persons by their job classification or responsibilities (e.g. role-based access). Internal Information is moderately sensitive in nature. Often Internal Information is used in making decisions, and therefore it is important this information remain timely and accurate. The risk for negative impact on the University should this information not be available when needed is moderate. Identifying information collected with the data to enable cataloguing and searching. It can be used to describe physical items as well as digital items. Metadata is a standard machine and human-readable format for representing project and data documentation....moreIdentifying information collected with the data to enable cataloguing and searching. It can be used to describe physical items as well as digital items. Metadata is a standard machine and human-readable format for representing project and data documentation. Open Access scholarly works are freely available via the Internet, permitting any person to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any lawful purpose, without financial, legal or technical barriers....moreOpen Access scholarly works are freely available via the Internet, permitting any person to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any lawful purpose, without financial, legal or technical barriers. Researchers have a responsibility to retain clear, accurate, secure and complete records of research data. It is critical that data includes records necessary for the reconstruction and evaluation of reported results and processes leading to those results. Research data relates to facts, observations, measurements or experiences on which an argument, theory or test is based. Research Data ma...moreResearchers have a responsibility to retain clear, accurate, secure and complete records of research data. It is critical that data includes records necessary for the reconstruction and evaluation of reported results and processes leading to those results. Research data relates to facts, observations, measurements or experiences on which an argument, theory or test is based. Research Data may be numerical, descriptive, visual or tactile. It may be raw, or analysed, experimental or observational and may be held in any format or media. Examples include, but are not limited to: Laboratory notebooks; Field notebooks; Primary Research Data; Questionnaires; Audio and video recordings; Photographs; Films; Test responses, and Any other records that are necessary for the reconstruction and evaluation of the reported results of research. Research Collections may include slides, specimens, samples and artefacts; with related provenance information. Research data (and primary materials) includes evidence supporting findings. For example, in the Creative Arts this may include early drafts and concept documents prior to the final output of the creative work. All the processes and actions required to manage data throughout the research lifecycle to enable it to be preserved and accessible by a controlled audience for current and future research. Examples include: data storage and backup organising data into directories/folders and using meaningful file names archiving final state data for long-term preservation describing datasets for...moreAll the processes and actions required to manage data throughout the research lifecycle to enable it to be preserved and accessible by a controlled audience for current and future research. Examples include: data storage and backup organising data into directories/folders and using meaningful file names archiving final state data for long-term preservation describing datasets for future reuse and discovery data sharing or publishing collaboratively creating and using data with other researchers ensuring security of confidential data synchronising data between desktop, laptop, USB key, cloud storage, etc. A Research Data Management Plan establishes key elements of research data management including: Ownership of research data Research data processing Storage and backup of research data Retention and disposal of research data Access to research data for sharing and reuse...moreA Research Data Management Plan establishes key elements of research data management including: Ownership of research data Research data processing Storage and backup of research data Retention and disposal of research data Access to research data for sharing and reuse Information should be classified as Restricted when the unauthorised disclosure, alteration, or destruction of that Information could cause a significant level of risk to the University or its affiliates. Restricted Information includes Information protected by the State or Commonwealth privacy regulations and Information protected by confidentiality agreements. The highest level of Se...moreInformation should be classified as Restricted when the unauthorised disclosure, alteration, or destruction of that Information could cause a significant level of risk to the University or its affiliates. Restricted Information includes Information protected by the State or Commonwealth privacy regulations and Information protected by confidentiality agreements. The highest level of Security Controls should be applied. Access to Restricted Information must be controlled from creation to destruction, and will be granted only to those persons affiliated with the University who require such access in order to perform their job (e.g. need-to-know). Access to Restricted Information must be individually requested and then authorised in writing by the Information System Custodian. Restricted Information is highly sensitive and may have personal privacy considerations, or may be restricted by law. In addition, the negative impact on the institution should this Information be incorrect, improperly disclosed, or not available when needed, is very high. The term 'University' or 'UniSQ' means the University of Southern Queensland....moreThe term 'University' or 'UniSQ' means the University of Southern Queensland. | |
| Definitions that relate to this schedule only | |
| Indigenous First Nations Peoples of Australia; a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent who identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted as such by the community in which they live. AIATSIS. (n.d) Indigenous Australians: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/indigenous-australians-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people Indigenous Data Governance The right of Indigenous peoples to autonomously decide what, how and why Indigenous Data is collected, accessed and used. Maiam Nayri Wingara. (n.d) Key Principles. https://www.maiamnayriwingara.org/mnw-principles Sensitive Information Information or an opinion about an individual's:
Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) Schedule 5 https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/2017-06-05/act-2009-014 | |
| Keywords | FAIR Data Principles, CARE Indigenous Data Principles |
| Record No | 21/423PL |