There is no universally agreed upon definition of research data. Often the definition and types of data differ by discipline. Most generally, it is anything collected or generated in the process of research.
There are different ways to categorize data. By the source data comes from, for example, there are observational data that is captured in real-time and experimental data generated in a lab or under controlled conditions. By its forms, data can be:
and others.
Read the Tri-agency's definition of data and research data.
Data lifecycle is a way of thinking about management of data through the course of a research project. DataOne’s data lifecycle is a widely known, discipline agnostic representation.
As shown in the figure below, the eight stages in this model are plan, collect, assure, describe, preserve, discover, integration, and analyze.
Figure: DataOne's data lifecycle
Not all research projects go through all stages or go through all stages in that particular order.
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