This dataset compares existing research data policies at UK higher education institutions. It consists of 83 cases. Polices were compared on a range of variables. Variables included policy length in words, whether the policy offers definitions, length of their definition of "data", defines institutional support, requires data management plans, states scope of staff and student coverage, specifies ownership of research outputs, details where external funder rights take precedent, guides on what data and documentation is required to be retained, how long it needs to be retained, reinforces where research ethics prevent open data, finalises where data can be accessed, speaks about open data requirements, includes a statement on funding the costs of Research Data Management, and specifies a review period for the policy. Data also includes the institution's year of foundation and a categorical variable grouping institutions by year of foundation allowing comparison across cohort groups of universities. A further two variables allow for identification of research based universities. Data on total research funding and research council for the year 2014/2015 was added, along with the number of research staff eligible for the 2014 UK Research Excellence Framework (REF). Also included is the institution's Grade Point Average based on its REF score using a Times Higher Education (THES) calculated score.

Data collection was based on a list of UK Higher Education Institutions with data policies. This list was provided by the Digital Curation Centre. I also conducted a google search for UK university data policies to discover additional institutions that had adopted Research Data Management requirements. The data does not include 'Roadmaps' to EPSRC compliance.