For research data management by members of the University of Freiburg, the Principles for Handling Research Data at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg and the Guidelines for Ensuring Good Scientific Practice (Code) are constituent. They are generic and therefore a general guideline for research groups and projects. They can provide abstract guidance for implementing and maintaining data management plans, but require specification at the level of Collaborative Research Centers, Clusters of Excellence, etc., taking into account their specifics. This should be laid down in a “Code of Conduct”, which on the one hand establishes the references to the principles of the university and the guidelines of the GWP, and on the other hand gives professorships, research groups and individual scientists a bracket. For the conception of such a Code of Conducts, the following guiding questions should help:

• What guidelines do you already have for handling research data? Such guidelines come, for example, from third-party funding bodies such as the DFG, the Horizon 2020 program or the BMBF.
• Does your institution have a policy or code of conduct based on the DFG Code or the Principles for Handling Research Data at the University of Freiburg ?
• How are doctoral candidates or students informed about how to handle research data?
• Are there any guidelines or procedures in your institution when personal data in the sense of the GDPR are processed during research? Is there a procedure in which the data protection officer or the ethics committee are integrated?
• Are there considerations on how rights of use and licenses are regulated?
• Is there a discourse in your institution or in your department about which standards are suitable for metadata or how they should be further developed?
• Does your institution consider metrics that can be used to verify the quality of research data? An example of such a metric is the Research Core Data Set , which is recommended by the German Science Council .
• Does your institution have a data manager to support researchers? This role is different from that of an IT administrator.

RDMG is available to support the development of a “Code of Conduct”.