Research Data Management Policies: Seeking References from Netherlands Universities

Abstract

This article analyzes the normative content of institutional policies for research data management adopted by Netherlands universities, with the aim of identifying the elements that make up the documents, the approaches to management strategies and the alignment with the principles that make data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. This is an exploratory study with a qualitative approach, based on systematic documentary analysis, which made it possible to map the presence of common guidelines, such as the obligation to share data, the existence of governance structures, the role of university libraries and the incorporation of technical and normative support bodies. The analysis also revealed weaknesses in aspects such as terminological standardization, definition of technical responsibilities, data disposal and use of metadata.