A data management plan (DMP) allows you to document your data management activities as outlined in the Data Management Essentials section. More funding agencies are requiring data management plans to ensure sustained public access to grant supported research data. As part of a grant proposal, a DMP is where researchers describe the types of data they will collect and how they plan to maintain and share that data.
A DMP may be called different things by different funders, such as a Data Management and Sharing Plan (NIH) or Digital Product Form (IMLS).
In addition, a DMP should be a "living document" (Harvard Medical School Data Management Plans) that may need to be revised and updated as your project progresses. It can and should be a dynamic document, evolving if changes need to be made during the project. The newest version of the DMPTool (5.0) now supports versioning of registered plans with and DMP-IDs. Refer to see the DMPTool Blog: DMP Tool 5.0 Release for additional information.
The NIH has also recognized that plans may require updates or modifications and have a section for guidance on Revising Data Management and Sharing Plans.
Generally, funding agencies will have specific criteria for what they expect in a data management plan though there are some typical elements, including:
For additional information, please see the following:
Particularly important at this stage will be to review any special considerations your research plan will need to address. It's always best to contact the ODU Office of Research for assistance with the following:
Purdue University has a Sensitive Research Data Management guide that may be helpful when thinking through what data to share. Remember that properly managing your data does not mean it necessarily needs to be or can be shared. Again, it may be best to contact the ODU Office of Research or the IRB for additional information.
Data Management Plan Templates
You can create your own data management plan document that meets the font / size / margins requirements for submissions from a particular funder. Some funders have also created templates that they post on their websites:
DMPTool
Another option is to use the DMPTool, a service of the California Digital Library, which provides a guided approach to completing your plan. You can use the DMPTool to create your data management plan whether or not it is required by a funding agency. It will help you in planning and organizing your research data so that you can make it available for others to use and adapt to further research in your area.
DMPonline
A tool similar to the DMPTool, centered in a European context. Both the DMPTool and DMPonline were developed through a partnership between the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and the California Digital Library. The tools are "established in our national contexts as the resource for researchers seeking guidance in creating data management plans (DMPs)" (DMPRoadmap).
Here are links to additional guides and DMP websites from other universities and organizations:
Sometimes it is helpful to review a sample plan, especially if you are new to the process. Below are some examples, but please don't use wording verbatim in your own proposal.
ICPSR (the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research) describes data curation as the following:
"Data curation is akin to work performed by an art or museum curator. Through the curation process, data are organized, described, cleaned, enhanced, and preserved for public use, much like the work done on paintings or rare books to make the works accessible to the public now and in the future. With the modern Web, it's increasingly easy to post and share data. Without curation, however, data can be difficult to find, use, and interpret." (ICPSR, Data Management & Curation)
The Data Curation Network (DCN) defines data curation as "the encompassing work and actions taken by curators of a data repository in order to provide meaningful and enduring access to data" (Johnston, et al., 2016). The authors identified and defined data curation activities which may include, among others: