An Introduction to Research Data Management with DataLad

The goal of this book is to teach universal research data management skills that require nothing but a standard computer and free software, yet scale from working with a few tables up to wrangling terabytes on high performance computing systems. This book approaches research data management with a hands-on, code-along tutorial style. It focuses on practical aspects and getting things done, with demos that are easy to follow and DIY-ready. Nevertheless, relevant technical concepts are explained, when necessary, in small excursions, and by insightful trial-and-error explorations. The content is centered around the data management solution DataLad. This free software is an multitool for managing digital information and its use, regardless of data type, size, location, volatility or origin. It provides functionality to share, retrieve, and version control data in a distributed fashion, and it aids managing the evolution of “FAIR” digital objects. This book is made from essential parts of the DataLad Handbook project, a rich online resource, built collaboratively by more than 50 contributors and visited thousands of times every day. You are invited to fire up your computer’s terminal and follow along, but you do not need to be a programmer, computer scientist, or Linux crack. If you have never touched your computer’s command line before, you will be fine. No prior knowledge about DataLad and its underlying software foundations, Git and git-annex, is required. In short, this book equips students, researchers, and any data wrangler with essentials skills needed for today’s digital data workflows, and for building reproducible and reusable data projects.