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Data Management Planning

Sarah JonesDigital Curation Centre

sarah.jones@glasgow.ac.ukTwitter: sjDCC

What is a DMP?What do they usually include?

What is a DMP?

A brief plan that outlines

• what data will be created and how

• how it will be managed (storage, back-up, access…)

• plans for data sharing and preservation

Why develop a DMP?

DMPs are often submitted with grant applications, but are useful whenever researchers are creating data to:

• Make informed decisions to anticipate and avoid problems

• Avoid duplication, data loss and security breaches

• Develop procedures early on for consistency

• Ensure data are accurate, complete, reliable and secure

• Save time and effort

Which UK funders require a DMP?

•www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/policy-and-legal/ overview-funders-data-policies

Five common themes1. Description of data to be collected / created

(i.e. content, type, format, volume...)

2. Standards / methodologies for data collection & management

3. Ethics and Intellectual Property (highlight any restrictions on data sharing e.g. embargoes, confidentiality)

4. Plans for data sharing and access (i.e. how, when, to whom)

5. Strategy for long-term preservation

www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/data-management-plans/checklist

DMP template for postgraduates

• Defining your data

• Looking after your data

• Sharing your data

• Archiving your data

• Executing your plan

http://opus.bath.ac.uk/30772

DCC Checklist for a DMP

• 13 questions on what’s asked across the board

• Prompts / pointers to help researchers get started

• Guidance on how to answer

www.dcc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/resource/ DMP_Checklist_2013.pdf

How to write a DMP

Advice on writing DMPs

• Keep it short and simple, but be specific

• Seek advice - consult and collaborate

• Base plans on available skills and support

• Make sure implementation is feasible

• Justify any resources or restrictions needed

• Remember: plans change and should evolve

A useful framework to get started

•Brief explanation of questions

•Sample statements of what to write

•www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/datamanagement/dmp/framework.html

Help from the DCC

•https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk

•www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/ •how-guides/develop-data-plan

Example plans• Technical plan submitted to AHRC by Bristol Uni

http://data.bris.ac.uk/files/2013/02/data.bris-AHRC-Technical-Plan-v21.pdf

• Rural Economy & Land Use (RELU) programme exampleshttp://relu.data-archive.ac.uk/data-sharing/planning/examples

• UCSD example DMPs (20+ scientific plans for NSF)http://rci.ucsd.edu/dmp/examples.html

• My DMP – a satire (what not to write!) http://ivory.idyll.org/blog/data-management.html

A satirical response – what not to do

“I will store all data on at least one, and possibly up to 50, hard drives in my lab. The directory structure will be custom, not self-explanatory, and in no way documented or described.

Students working with the data will be encouraged to make their own copies and modify them as they please, in order to ensure that no one can ever figure out what the actual real

raw data is. Backups will rarely, if ever, be done.”

My Data Management Plan – a satireC. Titus Brown

http://ivory.idyll.org/blog/data-management.html

What funders look for

• ESRC guidance for peer reviewers• www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/Data-Management-Plan-Guidance-

for-peer-reviewers_tcm8-15569.pdf

• MRC guidance on DMPs (for peer reviewers)• www.mrc.ac.uk/Utilities/Documentrecord/index.htm?d=MRC008768

• Clips of DMP presentation by Peter Dukes of MRC• www.youtube.com/user/TheDigitalCuration

• Wellcome Trust guide on developing a DMPhttp://www.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Policy/Spotlight-issues/Data-sharing/Guidance-for-researchers/index.htm

DMPonline

A web-based tool to help researchers write data management plans

Main features

•Templates for different requirements (funder or institution)

•Tailored guidance (funder, institutional, discipline-specific etc)

•Supports multiple phases (e.g. pre- / during / post-project)

•Ability to share plans and exports to a variety of formats

•API for systems interoperability

•Shibboleth authentication

What is DMPonline?

DMPonline v.4 beta

http://dmponline-beta.dcc.ac.uk

Creating an account

Asks for email, organisation

and password

Auto-fills uni options as you

type

Creating a plan

Select your funder (if any)

Select relevant uni for DMP

questions and guidance

Select other sources of guidance

Summary of what’s in a plan

Overview of sections in a plan

Summary page with dropdown

buttons to expand and answer each

section

Allows multiple phases

Questions and guidance

Easy-format text boxes to answer

Can pre-populate boxes with examples / suggested answers

Sharing plan with collaborators

Allow colleagues to read, edit or act as admin on your plan

Answering questions

Notes who has answered the

question

Progress bar updates how

many questions left

Exporting plans

Thanks – any questions?

DCC guidance, tools and case studies:www.dcc.ac.uk/resources

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