Highlighted Tool: Use DMPTool to write and submit your Data Management Plan for feedback!
The DMPTool is a free, open-source, online application that helps researchers create data management plans (DMPs) in compliance with funder requirements. It also has direct links to funder websites, help text for answering questions, and data management best practices resources. You may also submit your DMP to the Library Data Services team for feedback directly through the DMPTool!
Watch a brief demo to learn more.
At a broad level, data are items of recorded information considered collectively for reference or analysis.
Data can occur in a variety of formats that include, but are not limited to,
Data can be defined in a variety of ways, depending the discipline and the context. When it comes to making decisions about managing your research data, you may wish to consult the definitions used by your funder.
Good data management means determining how data will be collected, what that data will look like, where it will live, and who will be responsible for it -- all before the experiment starts -- and then clearly documenting that information.
A data management plan (or DMP) is a formal plan that describes how research data are managed throughout the lifecycle of a research project. Planning saves time in the long run by integrating processes within and after the life of a project. It minimizes the need to reorganize, reformat, or attempt to remember details about data when disseminating and sharing with others. Many funding agencies and journals have data management policies and guidelines.
Adapted from: Portage Network. (2020, August 25). Primer - Data Management Plan. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4495631 under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
A list of documentation, sample plans, and templates for data management plans from the DMPTool. The DMPTool maintains these templates, however, researchers should always consult the program officers and policy documents directly for authoritative guidance. Sample plans are provided by a funder or another trusted party.
The DMPTool is a free, open-source, online application that helps researchers create data management plans. These plans, or DMPs, are now required by many funding agencies as part of the grant proposal submission process. The DMPTool provides a click-through wizard for creating a DMP that complies with funder requirements. It also has direct links to funder websites, help text for answering questions, and resources for best practices surrounding data management.
Listing of metadata standards by discipline, to be used as a starting point when thinking through your DMP.
The webinar series introduces the basics of data management and the new requirements for data management and sharing that will be in place beginning in 2023. Sessions were recorded and are available on the site.
NIH released an optional DMS Plan format page that walks investigators through the Elements of a DMS Plan. A preview version of this format page is available now as a reference. A final, fillable version of this format page along with detailed instructions for preparing DMS Plans will be incorporated into the FORMS-H NIH Application Instructions, available in the fall.
Resources available include:
- Research Data Management Checklist
- Data Management Plan Template
- Onboarding Checklist
- Offboarding Checklist
- Knowledge Transfer File Template
- Digital Tools for the Lab Handout