Source: University of Sydney
This is a general overview of how data is used in the research lifecycle.
A researcher or team of researchers develops a question that they would like to investigate.
Data are collected. The method of collection varies widely through different disciplines, but example data collection methods include using scientific instruments, making observations, conducting surveys, interviewing people, and web scraping.
The researcher or research team organize their data and then analyze it. Common methods include using spreadsheets, databases, or visualization software, but again vary widely by discipline.
It's important for research teams to keep their data organized and stored in a secure location with back-ups. Sometimes data collection and analysis take many years the data need to be managed the entire time.
When the researcher or research team is ready to share the results of their analysis, they might publish an article in a scholarly journal or write a book. In the digital humanities, they might create an interactive website where other people can see the data. Often, they may choose to publish their organized data in the form of a dataset in a repository.
Other people can find the data and use it to replicate the results of the original study or use it to investigate their own individual research question.
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