Research Commons

This portion of the Research Commons Guide will help create a Data Management Plan (DMP). 

In this DMP section, follow down the left-sided tabs, mimicking the  information flow required to complete an effective, winning DMP.

What do we mean by "Data"?

A re-interpretable representation of information in a formalized manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing. Examples of data include a sequence of bits, a table of numbers, the characters on a page, the recording of sounds made by a person speaking, or a moon rock specimen.

CCSDS Secretariat. (2012). Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS). 

Retrieved from https://public.ccsds.org/pubs/650x0m2.pdf

Throughout the data management plan process, keep in mind ethical considerations for responsible research

As part of the Data Life Cycle (see below), the Data Management Plan (DMP) is developed during the Process and Methods stage.  A DMP simply describes how you will manage your research data during and after the project.  Creating an effective plan before collecting and analyzing data leads to efficient use of time throughout the research project.

Benefits of a data management plan:

• Time-saving
• Consistent data collecting standards followed by all researchers involved on the project
• Increased efficiency of research, with clearly defined roles for managing and collecting data
• Adherence to funder requirements
• Allows for easy sharing and reanalyzing of data by other researchers
• Proper records management and metadata development allows others to make sense of your data
• Storing and Preservation will allow you to quickly locate the raw data if a question pops up or something needs to be reanalyzed​

Most or all US Federally funded grants, as well as many private grant-awarding foundations require some form of data management plan.

Above from: A.T. Still Memorial Library