Provisional Translation (As of March 24, 2020)

Shimane University
Research Data Preservation and Management Guide
The Guidelines for Research Data Preservation at Shimane University (Approved by the Trustee(academic research and industrial innovation) on April/1/2020) stipulates that research data thatform the grounds of the published research discovery must be appropriately preserved so that it
can be used and verified at a later date.
Examples of appropriate methods for research data management will be presented inthis guide. These examples should be used as a reference for the storage of data using
methods appropriate to each field of specialization, so that it can be coherently
understood by third parties.

1. Data Storage Methods
In case that doubts arise concerning the published research discovery including research
papers and reports, the data on which the findings are based need to be verified. Thus, data
used for the research papers, etc. should be preserved so that it can be referenced immediately.
⚫ After research findings are presented, the manuscript, etc. and all original data files shallbe preserved. This includes not only data that was processed for the publication orpresentation but also the original data.
⚫ The process of data preservation and the allocation of data to a digital or physical location
shall be recorded in the “Research Data Preservation and Management Records.” Inaddition, the data retention period and the retention period expiration date should bedetermined in advance and recorded.

Data Retention Period⚫ As a rule, the retention period for data (documents, numerical data, images, etc.)
is ten years after the publication of the research paper, etc.
Although it is advisable for materials in print form to also be preserved for at least tenyears, it may be disposed of within reasonable limits if the shortage of storage spacearises.
⚫ As a rule, “objects” including samples and equipment shall be stored for five years
after the publication of the research paper, etc.
However, this shall not apply to objects that are difficult to preserve or store (e.g.,
unstable substances, materials that are expended or consumed as a part of theexperiment itself, rented/leased articles) and objects for which storage would incur asignificant cost (e.g., biological samples).

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Provisional Translation (As of March 24, 2020)

File and Folder Classification Rules (example)
Paper Location

YearJournalTitle

Name ofFirst Author

Paper Title
Each File·If the size of the original data is very large, the file on which the location of the preserved original data isrecorded shall be preserved in the place of the original data.

·For experimental, analysis, and survey data, the “person who acquired the data,” “experimental (survey)
method,” “data name,” and “data acquisition date” should be made clear in the folder and file names so it canbe ascertained easily by third parties.

2. Storage Location Specifics⚫ The data should be managed by the research group as a whole (or an appropriateorganizational unit), or by the individual researcher. It should be stored on a data storage
hard drive, CD, DVD, etc. Moreover, the process of data preservation should be noted by
the administrative division of each faculty/school.
⚫ The data should be kept in one place and centralized, in other words, it should be kept on
one hard drive or in one cabinet as much as possible.
⚫ If the research data includes personal information, it should be stored in a locked room suchas a private laboratory so that it cannot be seen by a third party. For digital data, close
attention must be paid to the security of the computer where the data are stored and thestorage medium.

3. Other Considerations⚫ If a faculty member leaves the university due to a transfer, mandatory retirement, or aresignation, the research data should be transferred to a new location. Information regarding
the person taking over the research and the new data storage location must be entered into
the Research Data Preservation and Management Records.
⚫ There are no prescribed rules regarding how the data are to be backed up or the equipment
renewed, but this should be carried out in an appropriate fashion by each research group,etc.

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