A data management plan is a living, written document explaining what you intend to do with your data during and following the conclusion of your research project. A data management plan is required by many funders. Even if it is not required, a data management plan can save you time and effort during your research as it forces you to organize your data, prepare it for the next step in its lifecycle, and clarify who will have access to it, how, and when.
If you plan on sharing your data, a data management plan can help you troubleshoot the issues you should address to make sharing simple. Finally, a data management plan helps ensure that your data remains usable to both you, your collaborators, and other researchers beyond the end of your project.
Describe the source of each dataset.
Describe the type of dataset generated
Create unique names for each dataset.
Assign persistent unique identifiers for each dataset.
Describe the file formats used for each dataset.
Choose file formats that are likely to be accessible.
Use existing standards of the discipline when possible
When there are no standards, describe the metadata you will create.
Describe who will have access to each dataset at each stage of the research
Describe how you will share each dataset, if applicable
Describe how you will preserve your datasets
Describe how you will back-up your datasets
Describe how you will secure sensitive datasets
Describe how each dataset will be licensed
If you want your data shared, use Creative Commons CC0 Declaration.
Describe whether each dataset contains direct or indirect identifiers
Describe how your plan is compliant with HIPAA
Describe whether consent to share the data will be gathered during the informed consent process
Describe how shared data will be anonymized, if applicable.
DMPTool is a useful tool for genereating a data management plan. An example data management plan based on the DMPTool's NIH-Generic template, using the OSF as an example repository, may be found here.
Numerous institutional libraries, such as the University of Notre Dame's, provide detailed data management documentation o n their websites.
For researchers outside of the United States, Jisc provides relevant advice guides.
This article is licensed under CC0 for maximum reuse.
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Last updated on May 5, 2023
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