phd data management plan

Research Data Management

• Literature/Guides for RDM Best Practices
• Data Information Literacy
• Publishing and Sharing Your Data
• Funding Agency Requirements
• Ownership of Data
• Scholarly Communication Libguide This link opens in a new window
• Research Data Management Working Group
• Manage Your Researcher Profile with ORCID This link opens in a new window

Rowan University Office of Sponsored Programs

• Research forms for grant proposals Information on preparing Data Management Plans from the Rowan University Office of Sponsored Programs.

Data Management Plans

Before beginning a research project, it is critical to have a clearly written data management plan (DMP). Most funding agencies require grant proposals to include a DMP that clearly outlines how the researcher will collect, manage, organize, preserve and distribute the research data that they will be generating during the study. Each funding agency has its own set of  requirements  for DMPs, so identify all elements that need to be addressed for a DMP for that specific agency before writing the plan. You may use free, web-based tools such as  DMPTool  that helps you construct data management plans using templates that address specific funder requirements.

Core elements of a Data Management Plan will include answers to the following questions:

• What’s the purpose of the research?
• What is the data? How and in what format will the data be collected? Is it numerical data, image data, text sequences, or modeling data?
• How much data will be generated for this research?
• How long will the data be collected and how often will it change?
• Are you using data that someone else produced? If so, where is it from?
• Who is responsible for managing the data? Who will ensure that the data management plan is carried out?
• What documentation will you be creating in order to make the data understandable by other researchers?
• Are you using metadata that is standard to your field? How will the metadata be managed and stored?
• What file formats will be used? Do these formats conform to an open standard and/or are they proprietary?
• Are you using a file format that is standard to your field? If not, how will you document the alternative you are using?
• What directory and file naming convention will be used?
• What are your local storage and backup procedures? Will this data require secure storage?
• What tools or software are required to read or view the data?
• Who has the right to manage this data? Is it the responsibility of the PI, student, lab, MIT, or funding agency?
• What data will be shared, when, and how?
• Does sharing the data raise privacy, ethical, or confidentiality concerns?  Do you have a plan to protect or anonymize data, if needed?
• Who holds intellectual property rights for the data and other information created by the project? Will any copyrighted or licensed material be used? Do you have permission to use/disseminate this material?
• Are there any patent- or technology-licensing-related restrictions on data sharing associated with this grant?
• Will this research be published in a journal that requires the underlying data to accompany articles?
• Will there be any embargoes on the data?
• Will you permit re-use, redistribution, or the creation of new tools, services, data sets, or products (derivatives)? Will commercial use be allowed?
• How will you be archiving the data? Will you be storing it in an archive or repository for long-term access? If not, how will you preserve access to the data?
• Is a discipline-specific repository available? If not, you could consider depositing your data into   Rowan Digital Works  (RDW).  Email the Library's Institutional Repository team at  [email protected]  for more information.
• How will you prepare data for preservation or data sharing? Will the data need to be anonymized or converted to more stable file formats?
• Are software or tools needed to use the data? Will these be archived?
• How long should the data be retained? 3-5 years, 10 years, or forever?

[Credit: Text for questions for DMP from  MIT Libraries]

Sample Data Management Plans

• Public DMPs  (from DMPTool website)
• ICPSR sample plans (for deposit with ICPSR)
• Natural Science examples  (from ICPSR website)  
• Guidelines for Effective Data Management Plans (ICPSR)
• Managing and Sharing Data: Best Practice for Researchers (UK Data Archive)
• Australian National University Data Management Manual
• NIH examples of data sharing plans
• UK Data Archive Managing and Sharing Data Guide

DMP Resources and Guides

• JHU Grant Reviews Guide Guide to evaluating DMPs in grant proposals prepared by Johns Hopkins University. more... less... Knowing what the reviewers are looking for should be helpful in creating your own.
• Digital Curation Centre DMP Checklist Checklist for creating data management plans provided by the UK's Digital Curation Centre.
• << Previous: Home
• Next: DMPTool >>
• Last Updated: Jan 3, 2024 12:06 PM
• URL: https://libguides.rowan.edu/researchdatamanagement