A presentation given at the graduate school workhop in Northampton on 20th February 2013.

1. Data Management Planning
Sarah Jones
Digital Curation Centre
sarah.jones@glasgow.ac.uk
Funded by:
•PhD workshop, University of Northampton

2. What is research data management?
•5.
•1.
“the active management and
•Preservation
•& Re-Use
•Create appraisal of data over the
lifecycle of scholarly and
scientific interest”
•4.
•2.
•Publication
•Active Use
•& Deposit
Data management is part of
•3.
•Documentation good research practice

3. What is a data management plan?
A brief plan written at the start of your project to define:
• how your data will be created?
• how it will be documented?
• who will access it?
• where it will be stored?
• who will back it up?
• whether (and how) it will be shared & preserved?
DMPs are often submitted as part of grant applications,
but are useful whenever you’re creating data.

4. Why develop a DMP?
• to help you manage your data
• to make informed decisions so you don’t have to
figure out things as you go
• to anticipate and avoid problems e.g. data loss
• to make your life easier!

5. What should a DMP cover?
1. What data will you produce?
2. How will you organise / look after the data?
3. How will you document the data?
4. What data will be deposited and where?
5. Who will be interested in re-using the data?

6. •1. What data will you produce?
• What type of data will
•5.
•Preservation
•1. you produce?
•Create
•& Re-Use
• What types of file
format?
•4.
•Publication
•2.
•Active Use
• How easy is it to create
•& Deposit
or reproduce?
•3.
•Documentation
• Who owns and is
responsible for it?

7. •2. How will you look after the data?
•5.
• Is your data safe?
•1.
•Preservation
•Create
• How is your data
•& Re-Use
backed up?
•4.
•2.
• Can you access it
•Publication
•& Deposit
•Active Use
when you need to?
•3. • Is your data
organised?
•Documentation

8. •3. How will you document the data?
• Do you still understand
•5.
•1.
your older work?
•Preservation
•Create
•& Re-Use
• Is the file structure /
naming understandable?
•4.
•Publication
•2. • Are there standards you
•Active Use
•& Deposit
can use?
•3.
•Documentation
• How do you handle
versions?

9. •4. What data will be deposited and where?
• Are you expected to
•5.
•1.
share your data?
•Preservation
•Create
•& Re-Use
• Are you allowed to share
your data?
•4.
•Publication
•2. • Which data will be
•& Deposit
•Active Use
included in your
publication / thesis?
•3.
•Documentation
• Which can be discarded?

10. •5. Preservation and Re-use
• How long will your data
•5.
•Preservation
•1.
•Create
be reusable for?
•& Re-Use
• Do you need to prepare
your data to deposit in
•4.
•Publication
•2.
•Active Use
an archive?
•& Deposit
•3.
• How will you make sure
•Documentation
you get citations &
impact?

11. A useful framework to get you started
•Think about why
the questions are
being asked – why
is it useful to
consider that?
•Look at examples to
help you understand
what to write
•www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/datamanagement/dmp/framework.html

12. Help from the DCC
•https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk
•www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/how-guides/develop-data-plan

13. ...a web-based tool to help researchers write Data
Management Plans according to different funder
requirements
We’re currently enhancing it with practical examples,
boilerplate text and tailored support
https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk

14. How DMP Online works
Create a plan
based on
relevant
funder /
institutional
templates...
...and then
answer the
questions
using the
guidance
provided

15. Tips for writing DMPs
• Seek advice - consult and collaborate
• Consider good practice for your field
• Base plans on available skills & support
• Make sure implementation is feasible

16. Sources of guidance
• ICPSR framework for a data management plan
www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/datamanagement/dmp/
framework.html
• How to develop a data management and sharing plan
www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/how-guides/develop-data-plan
• UKDA’s manage and share your data guide
• http://data-archive.ac.uk/media/2894/managingsharing.pdf

17. Thanks - any questions?
Content for this sessions has been taken from Research360, a Jisc
funded project which developed DMP resources for PhD students:
http://blogs.bath.ac.uk/research360/category/training

18. Exercise: writing a DMP
• Fill in the template based on your PhD
• Discuss your plan
– Did you know what to write?
– Were the questions clear / understandable?
– Was it useful to think about these issues?