A short presentation explaining the workings of DMP Online, in particular the mapping of specific data-related requirements to a generic underlying checklist. (N.B. this presentation contains animations, so is best downloaded to your own computer and then viewed in Powerpoint.)

1. The Template and Mapping
Processes in DMP Online v3.0
Explained and demonstrated

2. “Why not answer the questions directly?”
- Along with “Where can I find (i.e. pinch)
examples of successful DMPs?” this is the
question that I hear the most
- The worry is usually that “Researchers will not
want to answer the DCC questions”
- This short presentation explains the rationale
behind the mapping approach, and
demonstrates its benefits

3. Many actors, many templates, one DMP
- DMP Online v1.0 was designed simply to meet funder
requirements. The need for the mapping process was
less obvious in those days
- In the two years since the tool was first released, other
actors (publishers, institutions, etc) have increasingly
introduced data-related requirements and policies, and
the tool has evolved to meet these new challenges
- Consequently, DMP Online v3.0 facilitates the creation
of multiple (or ‘hybrid’) templates, allowing users to
create a single DMP that satisfies multiple needs…
+ + + +…
- Each template can also have multiple ‘phases’, e.g. (i)
application stage, (ii) in-project, (iii) post-project, etc

4. Without mapping
Let’s take a common issue, say data archiving / long-term
preservation…
- It is likely that this issue will be covered in one way or another by your
funder’s policy, your institutional policy and your publisher’s policy.
Furthermore, these three stakeholders may have different (and perhaps
even conflicting) requirements
- If we do not map these three policies to a single, underlying, generic
Checklist, the data management plan needs to address the same issue three
times, in separate places
- This introduces some serious problems:
• Redundancy of effort (i.e. answering the same question thrice)
• Dispersedness of answers (i.e. coverage of a single issue is addressed in
multiple locations within the plan)
• Risk of internal contradiction within the plan (i.e. changing one answer but
not another)
• Finally, the various guidance is not collocated, making it harder to plot a
satisfactory course

5. With mapping
When we map to a single Checklist:
1. We can create a single ‘master’ DMP for a project and we
can export subsets for particular purposes (e.g. submission
to funders, publishers…)
2. We compare like with like, enabling DMPs for multi-
partner, multi-funder, multi-disciplinary research
3. We draw together common issues in a single location
(together with the relevant guidance from each agency),
enabling them to be reconciled should conflict arise
4. We enable asynchronous ‘phases’ of DMPs, e.g. minimal at
point of application, expanded during the project, and
addressing long-term preservation issues towards the end
of the research (and post-project)
5. And finally – and this is the original purpose of mapping –
we may be able to learn something about disciplinary
differences in specific areas of data management

6. Mapping Demonstration
A simplified seven question Checklist, with three templates applied…
DCC Checklist Funder Institution Discipline
Questions Guidance Questions Guidance Questions Guidance Questions Guidance
- 1 - Default - 1 - Custom - 1 - Default - 2 - Custom
- 2 - Default - 2 - Default - 2 - Custom - 4 - Custom
- 3 - None - 3 - None - 5 - Default - 6 - Custom
- 4 - Default - 5 - Custom
- 5 - None
- 6 - None
- 7 - Default
Finally, the user adds the Discipline template,
sees more questions and yet more guidance:
Note how none of the
Questions Guidance
templates include Q7, and
- 1 - Custom + Default
Institution +
how none of the four
Discipline
Funder +
- 2 - Default + Custom + Custom
parties feel that Q3 requires
- 3 - None
accompanying guidance: a
- 4 - Custom + Custom
fourth template may change
- 5 - Default
this…
- 6 - Custom
First, user selects the
Funder template, sees:
Questions Guidance
Then the user adds the
Institution
Funder +
Questions Guidance - 1 - Custom + Default
- 1 - Custom Institution template, sees - 2 - Default + Custom
Funder
- 2 - Default - 3 - None
- 3 - None
the same questions but - 5 - Custom + Default
- 5 - Custom more guidance:

7. Conclusion
- The user thus creates a single DMP which
addresses all the issues that concern the three
agencies (Funder, Institution and Discipline)
- If an approach changes (and we stress that a DMP
is a living document, so this should be expected),
the change only has to be made in one place, with
reference possible to all the relevant guidance,
presented in a single location
- Finally, DMP Online’s One DMP for multiple uses
granular export option Questions Guidance
- 1 - Custom + Default
Institution +
- 2 - Default + Custom + Custom
enables the user to pull Discipline
Funder +
- 3 - None
- 4 - Custom + Custom
out only the relevant - 5 - Default
- 6 - Custom
sections, as needed…

8. Thanks
Martin Donnelly
DCC @ University of Edinburgh
December 2011
martin.donnelly@ed.ac.uk
Twitter: @mkdDCC