Portal:persona sarah story
Dr. Sarah Klein manages research data at a DFG-funded mathematics institute. Her role sits between the researchers producing data and the infrastructure needed to preserve, publish, and make that data reusable. She needed structured workflows her team could actually follow, persistent identifiers for outputs, and support at every step. Here is how MaRDI helped her build that.
Creating data management plans
Sarah's starting point for any new project is a data management plan. Using MaRDMO — MaRDI's extension of the Research Data Management Organiser (RDMO) — she guides her team through structured interviews that capture what data will be produced, how it will be stored, and how it will be shared. The resulting plan is linked directly to the MaRDI Knowledge Graph, giving it lasting context and discoverability.
Publishing datasets with persistent identifiers
Once datasets are ready for publication, Sarah deposits them via the MaRDI Portal, which provides persistent identifiers and connects each dataset to related publications, models, and software in the Knowledge Graph. Researchers at her institute can cite their data outputs just as they would a journal article.
For long-term, content-addressable storage of datasets, notebooks, and software packages, she uses MaRDI Portal Storage, which ensures each object remains verifiable and retrievable over time via its unique content hash.
Documenting mathematical models and workflows
For institutes working with mathematical models, MathModDB provides a structured way to document and publish models alongside their mathematical context — connecting them to the problems they address, the quantities they involve, and the computational tasks they support.
When workflows need to be documented end-to-end, Sarah uses MaRDIflow, which captures metadata and dependencies automatically and generates reproducible documentation in HTML, PDF, or Jupyter Notebook format.
Training her team
MaRDI's Best Practices resources and consulting support help Sarah onboard new team members and advise researchers on how to make their outputs FAIR from the start, rather than retrofitting compliance at the end of a project.
Not sure where to start?
The MaRDI Help Desk is happy to help you get started and find the right approach for your use case.
