A data management plan (DMP) is a document that outlines what you will do with your data during and after a research project. Having a DMP is essential for today’s researchers in managing their data, applying for grants, and preserving the data for subsequent use by other researchers. One useful tool that has been around since 2011 and continues to expand and improve is the DMPTool. The DMPTool is a free, open source tool to help researchers create and management their data management plans.
“The tool has four main functions:
1. To help create and maintain different versions of Data Management Plans;
2. To provide useful guidance on data management issues and how to meet research funders’ requirements;
3. To export attractive and useful plans in a variety of formats;
4. To allow collaborative work when creating Data Management Plans.”
A revamped version of the DMPTool launched February 27th that brought together the US based DMPTool and the UK version DMPonline into one international platform.
DMPTool has a number of excellent features to simply the data management process:
- Up-to-date Funder requirements (34 templates and growing)
- A searchable list of participating institutions with & without single sign-on
- New user interface with streamlined plan writing pages
- Quick-start guide for creating a DMP
- General data management guidance
Understanding the types of data, file formats, how to organize files, metadata documentation, persistent identifiers, security and storage, sharing and archiving, citing data, and copyright and privacy are all issues that the researcher needs to consider in devleoping a DMP.
For those of you who would like an overview of the new features, the following webinar will be held on Tuesday, March 13th at 12:00 pm ET: Data Management Plans 2.0: Helping You Manage Your Data presented by Stephanie Simms from the California Digital Library and DMPTool.
Can’t make it? This webinar will be recorded. Update (03/14/18): the recording can be found here: https://www.dataone.org/previous-webinars
If you have any questions about data management planning, please contact Kevin Gunn, Coordinator of Digital Scholarship at gunn@cua.edu or 202-319-5504.