thesis management data

Dissertations and major projects

Planning your dissertation
Researching your dissertation
Introduction

Before collecting your data

During your data collection, after your project.

Writing up your dissertation

Useful links for dissertations and major projects

Study Advice Helping students to achieve study success with guides, video tutorials, seminars and appointments.
Maths Support A guide to Maths Support resources which may help if you're finding any mathematical or statistical topic difficult during the transition to University study.
Academic writing LibGuide Expert guidance on punctuation, grammar, writing style and proof-reading.
Guide to citing references Includes guidance on why, when and how to use references correctly in your academic writing.
The Final Chapter An excellent guide from the University of Leeds on all aspects of research projects
Royal Literary Fund: Writing a Literature Review A guide to writing literature reviews from the Royal Literary Fund
Academic Phrasebank Use this site for examples of linking phrases and ways to refer to sources.

But it is also really important to consider how you will organise , store , and keep track of your data as you collect it. Good data management strategies:

Prevent you from losing data
Increase your efficiency when analysing the data
Show trends, patterns, and themes more clearly
Ensure your findings are based on robust, comprehensive results
Demonstrate that you are a rigorous researcher

What do I need to collect?

Good data management starts by collecting suitable data to answer your research questions. Gathering data that is fit for purpose means your analysis will be more efficient, and prevents you from becoming overwhelmed by having to process a lot of irrelevant information. When designing your data collection methods, look back at your research question(s) and keep asking yourself: How will the information I plan to collect help me answer these questions?

For further information about different research approaches and how to write the method chapter, have a look at our methodologies video below

Ethics forms

If you are gathering data that involves human subjects, it is likely you'll need to fill in an ethics form which will ask you to consider issues such as the confidentiality of your participants. Your project supervisor or department should be able to advise you on the type of ethics form you need to complete. Plan ahead to complete the ethics form in good time as it may need to be approved by a departmental committee, and you won't be able to start collecting your data without it.

Research approaches and the methodology chapter Study Advice video on research approaches and the methodology chapter to help you navigate this important stage. Log in with your student account to watch

Keep your electronic files on the University network (N drive) as it is reliable and backed up.

If you are storing data directly on your own laptop or PC outside the University network, make sure you have a rigorous backup system in case your device crashes, or is lost or stolen. Use an external hard drive or USB stick and save your data regularly. Have a safe place to keep your USB stick or hard drive and remember to take it with you when you leave the library!

Collect the minimum amount of personal data necessary and avoid collecting any personal information that you don't need.

Store any personal data in an appropriate, secure location, e.g. a locked filing cabinet, or password-protected or encrypted online files.

Avoid sending or storing personal data over unsecure networks such as via email or in cloud services like Dropbox.

Process and safely destroy any personal data as soon as they are no longer needed, for example promptly downloading and saving interview recordings from your phone or recording device into a password protected file.

If you have said on your ethics form that you will be annonymising data (e.g. interview responses) to protect participants' confidentiality, make sure you do this. Have a system for anonymously labelling each response such as assigning a letter, number, or changing their name (Participant A, Interviewee 1, 'Johnny').

Organisation

Have a systematic and clear way of naming your online files and, most importantly, stick to it!

You should be able to tell what's in a file without opening it. Including a date formatted like YYYY-MM-DD means you can sort files chronologically Having a version control number means you can easily distinguish between your 1st, 2nd, or 10th draft!

Store your electronic files in a logical folder structure to make them easier to locate and manage, e.g. creating folders to group files according to content type, activity, or date. For further examples see guidance from the UK Data Service (link below).

Also have a system for safely storing any field notes. You don't want to lose vital parts of your research on site or in an unfamiliar library that you won't be returning to. Simple systems are the best, for example putting things in box files is easier than having to find a hole-punch and ring binders.

Documentation

As well as making good notes from the books and journal articles you read (including the full bibliographic details for your references) it is also important to keep clear records of other parts of your research process:

Record your search strategy: Note down the combinations of keywords you use and the library databases you have searched to avoid duplication and confusion later.
Keep your lab book up to date: If you are doing primary scientific research, a good lab book helps you record what you did whilst it is fresh in your mind; it makes writing your methods and results much easier.
Label your equipment and any work in progress: If you are using a shared research space, clearly identify your work, as you don't want people accidentally moving it or throwing it away!
UK Data Service: organising data Guidance on file formats and organisation.

If you have the opportunity to continue with similar research, for example in a postgraduate degree, or present it to a public audience, such as at a conference or in a journal paper, it is good practice to keep your data in case fellow researchers want to access it; your project supervisor can help advise you about this.

In most cases, though, for undergraduate research projects it is very unlikely you will have to store your data after you have graduated. However, before you rush off to burn your notes, it is a good idea to keep everything safely until you have your final marks, just in case!

Advice adapted from the University of Reading's Research Data Management pages.

Research data management website (University of Reading) Information about what you need to consider when collecting and storing data.
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Last Updated: Oct 15, 2024 9:59 AM
URL: https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/dissertations

Data managent in Thesis: Data management steps

Data management in thesis
Research ethics
Data management steps
Collection of personal data in a thesis
Thesis with a commissioning party
Thesis without a commissioning party
Data security and storage
Upon the completion of the thesis
Additional materials

Plan templates

There are different planning templates for creating a data management plan. The student agrees with the thesis supervisor which plan template will be used.

Thesis design form

A plan template that is intended for planning the entire thesis. Material management is one part of the plan base.
Bachelor's Degree Thesis Plan
Thesis topic proposal Master's Thesis

Data management plan

Data management planning is part of the thesis plan. A material management plan is drawn up whenever research material is collected or produced for the thesis.

Data management planning is important because:

it serves as a checklist to ensure that the necessary permission and contract issues, research ethics, and data protection and information security have been taken into account in the planning of the thesis.
the material remains organized and easy to manage when, for example, recording, processing and description are planned in advance

Data management steps in the thesis

Data management always starts with planning , like the entire thesis project. The data management plan is a part of the thesis plan and in it, all matters relevant to data management are considered. The plan can also be thought of as a checklist or risk management: have all the necessary aspects been taken into account, such as contracts, research permits, data protection or the need for an ethical pre-assessment?

In the implementation phase , material is collected or produced, stored and processed taking into account information security, data protection and research ethics. It is also important to describe or document the material and its processing procedures.

When the material is no longer processed, it should be "packaged". If the material contains personal data or sensitive information such as trade secrets, it is advisable to either delete or anonymize this data as soon as it is no longer needed, but no later than when the thesis project is finished.

The life cycle of the material can also continue even after completion, for example if the material is made available to everyone or handed over to a specific entity for further use. Contracts and the consent of the research subjects may limit the possibilities of further use, so it is worth taking this into account already in the data management plan.