Scientific writing meets research data management
What should I do with my agricultural research data?
This question is on the minds of many doctoral students – after all, a lot of work goes into research data and its sustainable handling is crucial for good scientific practice. But how do you document data in an understandable way? Which tools help with structured management? And what does “FAIR” actually mean in this context?
More than 20 doctoral students in agricultural sciences at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen received answers to these questions as part of the “Scientific Writing and Publishing in Crop Sciences” module. In addition to scientific writing, this year’s program also included research data management (RDM) – practical, interactive and with a good dose of creativity.
Of gummy bears, metadata and owls
Good research data management is more than just organizational effort – it makes data understandable, findable and usable in the long term. How this can look in concrete terms was experienced in a playful way:
- Metadata to bite into? 🐻✨ To illustrate how important precise and structured metadata is, gummy bears were described in detail – and only then eaten.
- “Draw me an owl!” 🎨🦉 This challenge impressively demonstrated why precise documentation of scientific processes is crucial. Because without clear instructions, creative chaos can easily arise – even in research.
RDM in practice – tailor-made for agricultural scientists
The workshop was organized by FAIRagro in cooperation with the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and with the support of the eResearch Alliance of the University of Göttingen. The University of Göttingen is an active participant in FAIRagro.
Sophie Boße (FAIRagro training coordinator) and Elena Rey-Mazón (FAIRagro data steward) were responsible for organizing the content. In addition to theoretical principles, the focus was on specific tools and practical exercises. A particular highlight was the presentation of the FDM tools GRO.data and GRO.plan, presented by colleagues from the University of Göttingen. These could be tried out live – this is how learning by doing works!
We bring research data management to your institution!
💡 Do you need customized training on research data management? FAIRagro develops workshops together with you and for you that are precisely tailored to your needs. Get in touch with the FAIRagro helpdesk: dataservice@fairagro.net
📚 Looking for good teaching and learning materials? We have put together an extensive collection especially for agricultural scientists. Be sure to browse: Overview of FDM learning and teaching materials
An all-round successful workshop – we’d love to come back!