The Data Management Plan (DMP) is a plan that outlines how data is managed from the point of collection at the start of a research undertaking, all the way through to its analysis and elaboration of results and how it will be used beyond the original research undertaking. The scope of a DMP is to ensure that data is well-managed, organised, and preserved for future use.
Saves time and effort in the long run- It is pertinent to prepare a DMP at the initial stages by organising and annotating details pertaining to one’s data since it serves to identify and mitigate data management issues.
Increases research efficiency- Well-managed data is easier to understand and use, both for the researcher who generated and collected the data, and for other researchers who may wish to reuse it.
Facilitates data sharing and preservation- A DMP can help researchers to choose the right platform for their data and to format it in a way that is compatible. Preserving data makes it more accessible to other researchers and can lead to new and unexpected discoveries.
Typically, a DMP consists of the following:
Description of data
How data will be collected and processed
Storage and security
Sharing and access
Data preservation
Funding body
Ethical considerations
There are a number of open source DMP creation tools/templates available. These tools also allow researchers to work collaboratively on a DMP. The SEA-EU Alliance encourages the use of an open source DMP creation tool. Such tools support researchers with the creation of DMPs, provide templates which can be used, cater for sharing and codesigning of DMPS, facilitate the publication of DMPs and support with the archiving of the DMP.
Some examples of commonly used, open source DMP tools include:
DMPtool- A user-friendly web-based tool first established in the US. The tool prides itself on being a living tool, meaning that it is continuously being updated.
DMPonline- Similar to DMPtool, DMPonline is feature-rich, continuously updated, web-based tool that allows researchers to create a DMP and collaborate with others. It is based on the open source DMPRoadmap codebase, which is jointly developed by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and the University of California Curation Center (UC3).
DMP Assistant- A web-based tool that walks researchers step-by-step through a number of key questions about data management.
ARGOS- Based on OpenDMP and developed by OpenAIRE, ARGOS is another web-based tool that simplifies the management, validation, monitoring and maintenance of DMPs.
