Research Data Management: Data Management Plans
Why DMPs?
Why create a Data Management Plan?
- Meet funding requirements
- Ensure your data is complete and documented
- Ensure your data is accessible to researcheres in the future
- To save you time and frustration
- To raise the profile of your research
Data Management Plans
Data Management Plans (DMPs) are brief documents that outline the important information about how your data will be created, organized, stored, managed and preserved. In addition, DMPs outline how existing datasets may be used in your research and what new data will be created. They ensure that issues are thought of and planned for prior to the implementation of a new research project.
Many funding agencies now require that data management plans be included in grant applications, and those that do not yet require the use of DMPs, strongly encourage them.
Data Management Plans promote excellence in data management and stewardship.
Elements of DMPs
There are many things to think about when you begin a research project. Data should be one of those things. If you plan ahead and try to anticipate issues with the collection, organization and storage of your data, you will save a great deal of time and frustration. You will not always be required to have a data management plan, but they need not be complicated or long and it is a good idea to have at least a basic plan. Here are the elements normally included in a data management plan and some questions to think about when planning for data management.
Data Production |
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Data Size |
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Data Usage |
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Data Retention |
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Privacy and Security |
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Data Sharing |
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DMP required? |
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Data Documentation |
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Storage and Backup |
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Publication |
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Responsibility |
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DMP Tools
- DMP AssistantDMP Assistant is a bilingual tool for preparing data management plans (DMPs). The tool follows best practices in data stewardship and walks researchers step-by-step through key questions about data management.
- DMP ExemplarsExamples of excellent data management plans. Scroll down to DMP Exemplars
- DMPOnline - Digital Curation CentreThis is a straightforward tool for creating DMPs. You simply answer questions and it creates the plan for you.
- DMPTool -University of California Curation CentreThis is a tool that takes you step by step through a DMP. It prompts you with guidance for each section of the DMP. It can be quite in depth, but you can be brief, as long as you try to cover the important aspects laid out in the Data Elements box (to the right)