Research Data Management Overview

A data management plan (DMP) helps researchers work with, manage, share, and archive their data effectively. This working document maps out your plan for data management by addressing data types and characteristics, data handling processes, and maintenance throughout the research data lifecycle. As explained in the next section, federal funding agencies sometimes require a 2-3 page DMP to be included with a research project proposal, but these requested elements serve as a high level summary and should only be used as a guide for creating a more robust working document.

Elements to consider for your DMP:

• Data characteristics - type, format, volume of data, and which of your data can be shared and preserved long-term
• Data organization - directory structure, file naming conventions, versioning, and processes for quality assurance
• Documentation and metadata - documentation to be included for reuse, metadata and metadata standards, and how these will be recorded
• Data security - how sensitive data will be handled to ensure it is stored and transferred securely
• Legal compliance - plans for data licensing and/or restrictions on reuse
• Storage and backup - sufficient storage, backup processes, and access control
• Preservation - selecting which data to preserve, where it will be preserved and for how long
• Data sharing - when and how data will be shared, any access restrictions and/or actions to minimize restrictions
• Roles and responsibilities - who is responsible for implementing the DMP and ensuring it is reviewed and revised

Creating a plan is the first step in anticipating needs for your data, complying with funders, promoting research integrity, and preserving your data, but most importantly, it saves time for you and your team throughout the project and contributes to your research impact!

In 2022, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released the Nelson Memo as an effort to ensure free, immediate, and equitable access to federally funded research. This memo directed federal agencies to update their public access policies to make publications and their supporting data resulting from federally funded research publicly accessible without an embargo release. In response, federal funding agencies have introduced guidelines for data management and sharing requirements to include a 2-3 page (generally) plan giving a brief overview of, but not limited to, the following: (meta)data characteristics, storage and backup, security and privacy, access and sharing, providing long-term access, and oversight roles.

SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) provides a list of federal agency updates on their most recent publication and data sharing requirements. Their continuously updated 2022 OSTP Public Access Memo Guidance includes information on and links to agencies with updated policies in effect, agencies with updated policies published but not in effect, and agencies without updated policies published.

DMPTool provides a click-through wizard for creating a DMP that complies with funder requirements and direct links to funder websites and RDM best practice resources. Log in to DMPTool with your Purdue single sign-on (SSO) to receive specialized institutional support and see other public plans associated with Purdue researchers.

Purdue has many resources to help you with finding sample DMPs or writing your own. If you need more clarification on what should be in your DMP or would like your DMP reviewed before submitting to a federal funder, please reach out to purr@purdue.edu to set up a DMP consultation or submit a draft for review.