Research data lifecycles in practice: constructing knowledge across epistemic cultures

Purpose This study examines how data processing, analysis, documentation and sharing emerge across research projects, and why variation in these practices cannot be explained by discipline alone. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on 28 semi-structured interviews with established researchers purposively selected across macro-level disciplines. The data were analysed using theory-informed qualitative content analysis. Detlor’s (2010) information management (IM) framework was operationalised to structure the data lifecycle and actor levels, while Knorr Cetina’s (1999) theory of epistemic cultures was used to interpret project-level variation. Findings Research data took shape through interconnected processing, analysis, documentation and sharing phases, where earlier phases shaped later traceability and reuse. Sharing ranged from open to controlled forms. Variation occurred both across and within macro-level disciplinary contexts, suggesting that discipline alone is insufficient to account for variation in research data management (RDM) practices and that these practices should instead be examined in relation to project-specific epistemic configurations and organisational conditions. More communitarian configurations involved shared infrastructures, standardised practices and established sharing; hybrid configurations combined shared standards with project-specific documentation and controlled sharing; and more individualised configurations relied on local practices and negotiated sharing. The study also identifies tensions between institutional criteria for appropriate data management and researchers’ project-specific needs. Practical implications RDM support should combine common principles with project-specific guidance. Support should identify the relevant lifecycle stage, examine how data and research objects are constructed, clarify what different actors consider an adequate solution, and agree what can be shared, with whom and in what form. A single coordinating point of contact could help identify project-specific needs and bring together relevant RDM, IT, legal and data protection expertise. Originality/value The study combines IM and epistemic cultures to analyse RDM as a lifecycle shaped by organisational coordination objectives and epistemically differentiated project practices. It shows why support for documentation and sharing should be aligned with project-specific knowledge production practices.