ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book explores the principle-driven methods for the collection and management of research data. The importance of data to the research process is emphasized and illustrated through a series of true stories of data gone awry. Data form the basic building blocks for all scientific inquiries. Data management, the process by which observations including measurements are defined, documented, collected, and subsequently processed, is an essential part of almost every research endeavor. The book focuses on data in origination and active phases because decisions and activities that occur in these phases most directly impact the fitness of data for a particular use, and after the origination and the active phase have passed, opportunities to improve the quality of data are slim.
