Data Management Plans

Data management plans (DMPs) encourage researchers to think about how they will responsibly handle the data they collect, and are required by many funders. Most focus on answering the following general questions:

• What type of data will you collect and how much?
• How are your data going to be organized, stored, shared and preserved?
• Who owns the data?

Funder Requirements

Many funding agencies require that funding proposals include a data management plan; some funders also expect grantees to share the data or publications that result from grant funding.

For comprehensive lists:

• Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)
• Clearinghouse for the Open Research of the United States (CHORUS)

DMPTool

Researchers who are required to submit a data management plan as part of a funding proposal may wish to consult the DMPTool. The DMPTool is an interactive, web-based tool that helps researchers write data management plans tailored to a variety of funders' requirements, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Help

Librarians can also provide advice and guidance on writing a data management plan.

Video and course materials from the Library's "Writing a Successful Data Management Plan" workshop are available on the workshop guide.

For more information about writing a data management plan or using the DMPTool, please contact us.