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Data Management and Sharing Plans

Guide for creating data management plans

Data management before your research begins

OVERVIEW**

This is the planning phase. Before you begin your research, there are several factors that ought to be considered when planning how to manage data.

We can help you write and implement your data management plan to best meet funder requirements. Many disciplines already use preferred data repositories. If your discipline does not have one, you can also use CSUN ScholarWorks to meet federal funder requirements for data sharing. Here are links to a plan template and boilerplate language. [add here]

**Please note that since 2022, new federal guidelines for data management and sharing have been implemented. These changes will be ongoing for each government agency through 2025. Check back periodically for updates to these policies that, unless stated, are based upon the 2013 Obama-era OSTP guidelines.

See this page on Funding agency guidelines for more details on data management requirements from federal funders.

Why is Data Management Important?

Data management throughout the data life-cycle will not only help save you time, but it will help you:

  •  increase the impact of your research with citable data   
  •  clearly document and provide evidence for your research in conjunction with published results.
  •  comply with sharing mandates and meet IRB and data security requirements (e.g., HIPAA, FERPA).
  •  preserve data for long-term access and safeguard your investment from loss.
  •  describe and share data with others to further new discoveries and research.

 

Writing & developing Data Management Plans (DMPs)

Before starting a new research project, it may be helpful to develop a data management plan (DMP) that outlines your practices for collecting, organizing, backing up, and storing the data you will be generating. To help you begin writing a DMP, we provide a general template that includes basic topics to address; however, funding agencies like the National Science Foundation and others have specific guidelines on what information to include in your DMP that should be addressed first. Consider examining other planning and data sharing services here.

Develop Your Action Plan

  1. Review your funding agency guidelines for data sharing and determine requirements that need to be addressed;
  2. Get help writing your DMP:
    • Online: Use our worksheet to help devise a first draft of your DMP [Word Doc]
    • In Person: Once you have a draft, consider consulting with a librarian here at CSUN to review your plan and give you feedback;
  3. Implement & maintain your plan by following guidelines, best practices & using resources available to you on campus for file saving, archiving & near-term/long-term digital preservation.

Major points to consider for your DMP:

  1. What types of data will be produced in terms of format, file size, and classification (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, or sensitive)?
  2. What metadata standards do you need to follow for documentation?
  3. Do any considerations need to be make to protect sensitive information, including study participant confidentiality and intellectual property protection?
  4. What policies do you need to follow with respect to data sharing and reuse?
  5. How will you ensure archiving and preservation of the data you will produce?

Resources and Examples:

The library provides other resources that may also be useful for you as you write your DMP:

 

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