Spring 2014 Data Management Lab: Session 1 Data management plan instructions

1. IUPUI University Library Center for Digital Scholarship
Data Management Lab: Spring 2014
Data Management Plan: Instructions
Learning Objectives
• All of them!
Components of a data management plan (adapted from ICPSR Data Management Plan Elements list)
1. Data description: A description of the information to be gathered, including the nature and scale of the
data.
a. What types of data will be generated?
b. What file formats will be used to store the data?
c. What is the process for gathering or collecting the data?
d. What tools or instruments will be used to gather or collect the data?
2. Existing data: Survey of existing data relevant to the project and discussion of whether and how these
data will be integrated.
a. Are high-quality reference data available for use?
b. What are the common repositories, communities, or platforms for sharing research data in your
community?
c. Does your institution or library purchase restricted use or licensed data sets?
d. Do existing data address the aims of your project?
e. If you plan to re-use existing data, is the dataset covered by copyright? How will the dataset be
licensed if rights exist?
3. Format: Formats used in generating, processing, analyzing, and sharing the data.
a. What file formats are necessary (input & output) for your analyses?
4. Metadata: Describe the metadata to be provided and the metadata standards used.
a. Are there established metadata standards in your field or discipline?
b. What is the purpose of the metadata that will be created?
OR
What do you need to do with your data during and after project completion that metadata can
facilitate?
c. How will metadata be generated (automated or manually)? What tools/how will the metadata
be created, managed, and shared?
d. Who will generate the metadata?
5. Storage and backup: Describe the storage methods and backup procedures for the data, including
physical and cyber resources used for effective preservation and storage of the data.
a. How will you organize and name your files?
b. Where will your files be stored?
c. What is the backup plan?
d. Who will execute the backup plan? Who will oversee that storage and backup are being done
correctly?
6. Data organization: Describe how the data will be managed during the project.
a. Describe how analog and remotely generated data will be entered into the system.
b. Describe file organization and file naming conventions.
c. Identify how file versioning will be tracked.
7. Security: Identify the security level for the data. Describe the technical and procedural protections for
information and how permissions, restrictions, and embargoes will be enforced.
a. What protections are necessary to be in compliance with institutional, state, federal, and
funding agency policies and regulations?
b. In light of your ethical and legal obligations, what procedures need to be in place during data
collection, storage, and analysis?
1
Heather Coates, 2013

2. IUPUI University Library Center for Digital Scholarship
Data Management Lab: Spring 2014
Data Management Plan: Instructions
c. Describe how your data storage, preservation, and sharing mechanisms provide the appropriate
level of security in meeting your ethical and legal obligations.
8. Responsibility: Names of responsible individuals and the roles they will take in data management
activities.
a. Identify roles and responsibilities for data organization activities. This can be organized by
individual/role, phase in the data life cycle, or by the activities outlined in this document.
9. Intellectual property rights: Identify the entities or persons who will hold the intellectual property (IP)
rights to the data. Describe how IP will be protected, if necessary. As always, check with your funding
agency and institution for specific guidelines.
a. Identify who holds the intellectual property rights for these data. If these rights are to be
shared, describe the level of control each stakeholder will possess throughout the life of the
data.
b. Is it possible that processes or results from this study will be patentable or commercially viable?
10. Access and sharing: Describe how data will be shared, access procedures, embargo periods (if
applicable), technical mechanisms for dissemination, whether access will be open or limited to specific
user groups, and a timeframe for data sharing and publishing.
a. What data will be made available for sharing?
b. What limits or conditions would you place on sharing your data? Will permission restrictions be
necessary? What rights will you retain before the data is made available for wider use?
c. Is there an embargo period? What is the reason for this embargo?
d. How will the data be made available? Identify specific expertise or technology required to
provide access to the data.
e. When will you make the data available? Provide details and justification for embargo periods.
f. What is the process for gaining access to the data? Identify specific expertise or technology
required to access the data.
11. Audience: Identify potential secondary users of the data.
a. Which individuals/groups/organizations are likely to be interested in this data?
b. How can you anticipate this data being used?
c. What value might the data have for these individuals/groups?
12. Selection and retention periods: Describe how data will be selected for archiving, how long the data will
be retained, and plans for the eventual transition or termination of the data.
a. How long do you think the data will be useful?
b. What data will be preserved for the long-term?
13. Archiving and preservation: Describe the procedures in place or envisioned for long-term archiving and
preservation of the data, including succession plans for the data should the expected archiving entity go
out of existence.
a. What is the long-term strategy for maintaining, curating, and archiving the data?
b. What transformations will be necessary to prepare data for preservation (i.e., data cleaning, de-
identification, etc.)?
c. What contextual information is necessary to make the data reusable (i.e., metadata, references,
reports, manuscripts, grant proposal, etc.)? How will that information be preserved along with
the data?
d. Will you include links to published materials and other outcomes? How will you address the
issue of persistent citation?
e. What procedures does your intended long-term data storage facility have in place for
preservation and back-up?
2
Heather Coates, 2013

3. IUPUI University Library Center for Digital Scholarship
Data Management Lab: Spring 2014
Data Management Plan: Instructions
14. Ethics and privacy: Discuss how informed consent will be handled (if applicable) and how privacy will be
protected, including exceptional arrangements that might be needed to protect participant
confidentiality. Describe any other ethical issues that may arise.
a. Are there ethical and privacy issues that may prevent sharing of some/all of the data? If so, how
will these be resolved?
b. How will you comply with obligations described in your IRB proposal?
15. Budget: Identify the costs of preparing data and documentation for archiving and how these costs will
be paid.
a. Does your data storage plan have costs associated?
b. Does your data archiving strategy have costs associated?
16. Quality assurance: Procedures for ensuring data quality during the project.
a. Describe quality assurance procedures in place.
b. Describe who and how quality control checks will be conducted.
17. Legal obligations: Describe all relevant federal, funder, or other obligations for data management and
sharing.
a. Identify all obligations for all data in this section. If there are multiple data sets or sources with
different obligations, organize by data set or source.
b. Ramifications for other data management policies and actions should be described in the
appropriate section above.
Resources
1. DHHS, Office of Research Integrity: Guidelines for Responsible Data Management in Scientific Research:
http://ori.hhs.gov/images/ddblock/data.pdf
2. Human Subjects Research Data: Subject-specific and Association and Society Guidelines:
https://library.uoregon.edu/datamanagement/humansubjects.html
3. ICPSR Guidelines for Effective Data Management Plans:
https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/datamanagement/dmp/index.html
4. Digital Curation Centre (UK): http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/data-management-plans
5. Indiana University Policies: http://policies.iu.edu/policies/categories/research/index.shtml
6. Indiana University: Standard Operating Procedures, rev 2013:
http://researchadmin.iu.edu/HumanSubjects/hsdocs/IU_SOPs_for_Research_Involving_Human_Subject
s_(v10.2013).pdf
7. Medical Records Collection, Retention, and Access in Indiana: http://www.healthinfolaw.org/state-
topics/15,60/f_topics
8. Indiana University Research & Technology Corporation: http://iurtc.iu.edu/
References
ICPSR. Elements of a Data Management Plan. Retrieved from
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/datamanagement/dmp/elements.html
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Heather Coates, 2013