A series of freely available, open-licensed training materials has been published by the UK Data Service. The practical training resources, created as part of an initial Population Research UK (PRUK) project, can be used, shared and adapted by the Longitudinal Population Studies (LPS) community and other data professionals to improve data management strategies and enhance longitudinal data sharing.
The training materials
The resources are based on interactive training workshops designed and delivered by the UK Data Service to over 300 data managers and professionals during June-October 2024. The workshops aimed to enhance the skills of researchers in managing, documenting, curating and sharing longitudinal research data more effectively. Sessions were also run on advanced skills, such as synthetic data creation.
The materials have been refined by incorporating continuous feedback gathered during the delivery of the sessions. The finalised training materials have been published on Zenodo. They are intended for individuals seeking to improve their research data management practices and for trainers delivering similar content.
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PRUK UKDS: Introductory Research Data Management Course – Enhancing Longitudinal Data Sharing – Presentation slides for each session of the course are available. These materials are designed to equip data managers with foundational research data management skills, specifically focusing on enhancing longitudinal data sharing.
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PRUK UKDS: Introductory Research Data Management Course – Enhancing Longitudinal Data Sharing – Train the Trainer Materials – The train-the-trainer resources include presentation slides with comprehensive speaker notes to facilitate delivery. The materials are intended to enable trainers to adapt and deliver the course in diverse settings while maintaining consistency with the original design.
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PRUK UKDS: Introduction to Synthetic Data for Longitudinal Data Managers Workshop – Presentation slides are available to introduce data managers and their colleagues to the fundamentals of synthetic data, including its potential for enhancing data management and sharing in longitudinal and biomedical studies.
The project
The project Skills Development for Managing Longitudinal Data for Sharing aimed to improve skills and practices for sharing and managing Longitudinal Population Studies data across the social, economic, and biomedical sciences. The initiative, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Medical Research Council as part of the wider PRUK work in the UK, built on a prospectus published by Health Data Research UK in 2021, which highlighted the need to maximise the use of Longitudinal Population Studies data.