“The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has launched a new Primer Series on information management technology issues with the publication of the first primer on the topic of Research Data Management. Two more primers on the topics of Understanding Metadata and Linked Data for Cultural Institutions, respectively, will be released in coming months, with additional Primers to be published periodically.  The primer on Research Data Management provides an overview of how data management has changed in recent years, and outlines best practices for the collection, documentation, and preservation of research data. The importance of creating a data management plan (DMP) before beginning a research data project is emphasized. Crucial questions regarding how the data will be managed are answered ahead of time in a DMP, thus making it easier for the researcher to collect and document the data properly for future use and reuse. Creating research data that is easily reproducible and transparent is the ultimate goal, and following the guidelines in this primer can help educate researchers to ensure their data is available for others. The differences between publishing papers and publishing datasets and the citation challenges the data community are working on solving are also discussed.  “Research in all domains is seeing an increasing prevalence of data-driven research and an influx of diverse data sources and analysis methods,” says Carly Strasser, author of this primer. “Data management is therefore an emerging concern for researchers. This primer provides a high-level overview of research data management, and is intended to be useful across domains.” This primer on Research Data Management and the forthcoming primers on Understanding Metadata and Linked Data for Cultural Institutions are introductory documents on these important topics relating to information management for those new to our community, or for those who just need a summary understanding of these issues. The NISO Primer series will be freely available and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons-BY-NC 4.0 license. “Meant to provide insight and instruction to researchers collecting data, these primers discuss the latest developments in research data and the new tools, best practices, and resources now available,” says Todd Carpenter, NISO Executive Director. “Providing basic information to the wider community about NISO’s activities is a critical component of our work as an organization. We seek to serve not only those who are deeply versed with technology in our community, but those who are starting out as well.” The NISO Primer on Research Data Management is available as a free download from the NISO website at: http://www.niso.org/publications/press/researchdata/“