Such statements present theory and data analysis that apply to a solution of the problem. When there are lots of data involved, data management and analysis can be surprisingly difficult. In the fast moving scenarios present in modern research laboratories, our ability to collect data far outstrips our ability to realize the full potential for understanding. It is a rare data set that is analyzed more than once. This cycle is unacceptable.
Data collection is expensive and difficult.
Proper documentation and maintenance of data makes research even more expensive. The growing institutional awareness of the value of long-term studies makes data management even more critical and expensive. The general feeling that data are good only for the question posed when they were collected is being replaced by the awareness that they may be of further use for other purposes. Documenting a data set implies sufficient commentary so that future researchers who did not collect the original data can know when it might be further used and when not. The primary product of most research projects are the data that are obtained.