Data Handover

When an employee or a PhD student employed by the university leaves, when the principal investigator of a project changes, or when data are transferred outside MENDELU, it is necessary to ensure that research data remain accessible, understandable, and reusable even without the person who created or collected them.

Research data created or collected as part of work duties at MENDELU belong to the university according to the university's internal regulations. Therefore, an employee's departure does not mean that the data leave with them. Before termination of employment or a change of workplace, it is necessary to ensure that relevant research data remain at MENDELU and can be correctly interpreted and used in the future.

The procedure below is the recommended procedure for handing over research data at MENDELU. Specific requirements may vary depending on the nature of the research, the type of data, project conditions, contractual obligations, or legal and ethical restrictions.

When do data need to be handed over?

The handover of research data should be addressed particularly in the following situations:

What needs to be ensured during the handover?

Data must be handed over in a way that enables another researcher to determine:

• what the individual files and datasets contain,
• how the data were generated and processed,
• how the data are organized,
• how individual variables, codes, or values can be interpreted,
• what software or tools are required to work with the data,
• what legal, ethical, contractual, or licensing restrictions apply to the data,
• where the reference copy of the data is stored,
• who is responsible for the ongoing management of the data.

The handover therefore includes not only the data themselves, but also their documentation and other related materials necessary for understanding them.

Data handover when an employee leaves

Before an employee leaves, relevant research data should be handed over to the head of the department or another designated person who will assume responsibility for their ongoing management.

Data handover checklist

1. Identify the data that need to be handed over

This may include:

• original or raw data,
• processed and analyzed data,
• final data files related to publications and other outputs,
• scripts, source code, and analytical workflows,
• documentation of data collection and processing methods,
• questionnaires, protocols, forms, or other tools used for data collection,
• documentation for datasets that have already been published or archived.

It is not necessary to retain every working or temporary file in the long term. However, the data and documentation needed to understand the research, verify the results, meet project obligations, or enable further use of the data must be preserved.

2. Ensure that the data are organized in an understandable way

The data should be accompanied by documentation explaining the structure and file names. It should be possible to clearly distinguish, for example, original data, processed data, and analysis outputs.

A new researcher working with the handed-over data should not need the original author in order to understand where things are located and what the individual files mean.

3. Check the documentation

Each data file (or collection of datasets) being handed over should therefore be accompanied by documentation appropriate to its nature. We recommend ensuring that the data are accompanied by a README file briefly describing:

• the contents of the dataset,
• the folder and file structure,
• how the data were generated,
• the main steps in their processing,
• the names, abbreviations, and conventions used,
• the required software,
• important restrictions on further use.

For structured data, a codebook should also be included where appropriate, explaining the individual variables, units, category coding, and how missing values are indicated.

If software code is important for reproducing the results, the scripts used should also be handed over, together with information about the required software, libraries, and their versions.

Sustainable formats

Where possible, important data should also be handed over in a format suitable for long-term preservation and further use. Ideally, these should be open, commonly used, and well-documented formats that do not depend solely on one specific software application.

Ensure storage at MENDELU

When an employee leaves, relevant research data should not remain solely:

• on a personal computer,
• on an external drive belonging to the departing person,
• in private cloud storage,
• or in a location that the university will no longer be able to access after the account is deactivated.

The data need to be moved or copied to a suitable university storage or other solution, and the person assuming responsibility for their ongoing management must be given access to them.

Check legal and ethical restrictions

Before handing over the data, it is necessary to verify whether they are subject to any restrictions that may affect their further use or access.

Particular attention should be paid to:

• personal and sensitive data,
• the terms of informed consent,
• requirements of the ethics committee,
• agreements with research partners,
• requirements of the funding provider,
• licenses and rights relating to third-party data,
• intellectual property rights,
• trade secrets or results with potential for legal protection.

Transferring data outside MENDELU

Research data may be transferred to another university, research institution, or other external entity, for example, if you receive a request to share the underlying research data on which your publication or other research outputs were based.

Before sharing data outside the university, it should always be clear:

It is also necessary to verify whether MENDELU has the right to provide the data to the requested extent and whether their transfer is restricted by a contract, license, informed consent, personal data protection requirements, or other legal or ethical requirements.

For publicly available data, further use may be governed by an appropriate license.

For non-public, confidential, or sensitive data, it may be necessary to enter into a research data transfer and use agreement defining the recipient's rights and obligations.

Do you need help with handing over research data?

If the responsible person wishes to verify whether a departing employee has handed over the research data in an appropriate condition, they can contact the MENDELU Open Science Centre.

The OSC can provide methodological support, particularly with regard to:

• data organization,
• documentation,
• data formats and long-term usability,
• basic principles of FAIR data management,
• selecting a suitable storage solution,
• checking the completeness of the handover package against the checklist.

Methodological support provided by the OSC does not replace expert assessment of the scientific correctness of the data or legal assessment of a specific contract or legal relationship.