An overview of why you should better store your research data and best practices for storing data

1. Storing Your Data
Kristin Briney, PhD
Data Services Librarian

2. Gail Steinhart, http://www.flickr.com/photos/gailst/7824341752/ (CC BY-NC-SA)

3. Gail Steinhart, http://www.flickr.com/photos/gailst/7824341752/ (CC BY-NC-SA)

4. justgrimes, https://www.flickr.com/photos/notbrucelee/8016192302 (CC BY-SA)

5. grover_net, http://www.flickr.com/photos/9246159@N06/599820538/ (CC BY-ND)
STORAGE AND BACKUPS

6. Storage
• Why?
– Need good storage practices to prevent loss
– Keep data secure

7. Storage
• How?
– Library motto: Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe!
– Rule of 3: 2 onsite, 1 offsite

8. Storage
• How?
– Computer
– External hard drive
– Shared drives/servers
– Magnetic tape backup
– CDs/DVDs
– Cloud storage*
– USB flash drive
Erica Wheelan, https://www.flickr.com/photos/reinventedwheel/5985479866 (CC BY)

9. *Cloud Storage
• Read the Terms of Service!
• Eg. Google Drive
– “When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services,
you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license
to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works
(such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other
changes we make so that your content works better with our
Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly
display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this
license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and
improving our Services, and to develop new ones”

10. Backups
http://toystory.disney.com/

11. Backups
• How?
– Any backup is better than none
– Automatic backup is better than manual
– Your work is only as safe as your backup plan

12. Backups
• How?
– Check your backups
• Backups only as good as ability to recover data
• Test your backups periodically
– Preferably a fixed schedule
– 1 or 2 times a year may be enough
– Bigger/more complex backups should be checked more often
• Test your backup whenever you change things

13. Example
• I keep my data
– On my computer
– Backed up manually on shared drive
• I set a weekly reminder to do this
– Backed up automatically via SpiderOak cloud
storage

14. WHAT TO DO FROM HERE

15. Chris Hoving, https://www.flickr.com/photos/pcrucifer/2433274595 (CC BY-ND)

16. Data Services
• uwm.edu/libraries/dataservices
• Data Services Librarian
– Kristin Briney

17. Thank You!
• This presentation available under a Creative
Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license