Abstract

This study aimed to examine the perception and experience of researchers in the field of mechanical engineering on research data creation and management, and suggest implications for research data management and services in the field. Research data management and services of domestic and foreign research institutes were investigated, and in-depth interviews were conducted with researchers belonging to domestic mechanical engineering research institutes to analyze the perception and conduction of research data creation and management according to four major categories: “research data, accountable conducting of research and compliance with research ethics, utility and effectiveness of research data management, and the value of sharing research data.” To ensure effective research data management and services in mechanical engineering, it is necessary to conduct a data investigation on the process, type, and form of production to collect explicit metadata and implicit contextual information. It is also necessary to propose a plan to recognize research results using the publication of data journals and to prepare infrastructure such as a cloud-based system that supports safe data management and communication between researchers. In addition, it suggests that it is important for various officials in the research field to allocate roles and responsibilities for research data management and services at the organizational level.