The public market ELN_LIMS[i] launched by ULiège has just been awarded to RSpace. A will on behalf of our institution to be part of a reproducible research approach and to be able to adopt the ALCOA+ data management methods[ii].
The University of Liege wishes to contribute to the implementation of new tools to improve the management of living research data. This initiative is in line with the institutional strategic plan for quality improvement in research and with the objectives of the European Charter for Researchers (HRS4R) to which we have already adhered for several years.
RSpace is one of the few tools that have been developed for an academic environment, supporting the scientific culture of OPEN SCIENCE, towards transparent and reproducible research. The RSpace environment can be described as the central element of living data management. It is connected to various data collection systems, allowing the organization and sharing of these data, and the generation of rich metadata. It also integrates various management, resource management, collaboration and coding tools. Finally, RSpace is connected to various directories such as Dataverse, FigShare, Open Science Framework or DMPonline.
Who is ELN_LIMS designed for?
The RSpace tool is mainly aimed at the health sciences and science and technology sectors. However, researchers conducting quantitative research in other fields and thus dealing with large volumes of digital data may also have an interest in using RSpace. In some research domains, many of them are already using GITLab ULiège...For some, GITLab will meet all the needs of living data management. For others, RSpace will prove to be an indispensable complementary tool !
What are the advantages of using RSpace?
- The adequate storage of data
It is very common to have data distributed on different storage and resources, such as local hard drives of measuring instruments, personal computers of researchers, USB sticks, external hard drives, group shares. However, data without context is meaningless. These data become useless and can even be considered lost. It is therefore of utmost importance to have an adequate data backup mechanism.
- Collaborations and secure data sharing
Today, collaborations between research groups within a local entity or in different geographical locations around the world are the norm. It is therefore necessary to share data and information between research groups, while ensuring data integrity and intellectual property rules. RSpace allows the sharing of data within the same structure, but also towards the outside. Data can be shared in read-only or editable mode, for a target person or a large group. The audit trail also makes it possible to determine who has accessed the data and what changes have been made to it.
- Data traceability and reproducibility
The FAIR principles of scientific data management state that data must be findable, accessible, interoperable and reproducible. These principles apply to all data generated in a laboratory: raw data from measuring instruments, processed data and analyzed data. Data must be securely stored, backed up and annotated with sufficient metadata to be interpretable and reproducible by anyone with sufficient domain knowledge. The use of RSpace helps to ensure data EQUITY.
The RSpace tool is constantly evolving to best meet the needs of its users.
[i] ELN_LIMS : Electronic Lab Notebook - Laboratory Information Management System
[ii] ALCOA+ best practice guidelines and methodologies for good data management, acronym of data Attributable, Legible, Contemporaneous, Original, and Accurate. In addition, 'ALCOA+' guidance recommends that data is also Complete, Consistent, Enduring, and Available.
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