Research Guides: Research Data Management: Data Management Plans

Overview

A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a living document that outlines how you plan to manage your data from the beginning to end of your research project.

DMP Assistant
An online tool to help you create Data Management Plans. After creating an account, DMP Assistant will walk you through key questions about data management processes for your project.
Data Management Plan Database
Database that gathers examples from across the world including DMPs from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Qualitative DMP Competition, DataOne, Digital Curation Centre, Liber, the Working Group on NIH DMSP Guidance, and UC San Diego Research Data Curation into one searchable, open-access platform.
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Created by RDM Project Team at McMaster University: Shrey Acharya (RDM Assistant - 2023), Sarthak Behal (RDM Assistant 2022-23), Danica Evering and Isaac Pratt (RDM Specialists), Debbie Lawlor (Developer).

Funding Agency Requirements

In March 2021, Canada’s federal granting agencies — the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) — launched the Tri-Agency Research Data Management (RDM) Policy.

In Spring 2022 the Agencies announced the initial funding opportunities that will require applicants to submit Data Management Plans (DMPs):

CIHR

Network Grants in Skin Health and Muscular Dystrophy (Anticipated launch fall 2022 or early winter 2023)
Virtual Care/Digital Health Team Grants (Anticipated launch fall 2022 or early winter 2023)
Data Science for Equity (Anticipated launch fall 2022 or early winter 2023)

NSERC

Subatomic Physics Discovery Grants - Individual and Project (Anticipated launch summer 2023)

SSHRC

Partnership Grants Stage 2 (Anticipated launch summer 2023)

The agencies are collaborating with stakeholders to co-develop resources to support applicants in preparing DMPs. Information about these resources will be provided when the funding opportunities are launched. The agencies are also exploring approaches to DMP assessment. Details on how DMPs will be considered in the adjudication process, as well as resources to support assessment of DMPs, will be provided when the funding opportunities are launched.

Update from the Tri-Agencies: https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/interagency-research-funding/policies-and-guidelines/research-data-management

Data Management Checklist

Data Management Checklist*

Reviewing the questions and concepts outlined below will help you think about important issues related to data management.

Data Collection
- What type(s) of data will be produced?
- What file format(s) will the data be saved as? Are those file formats proprietary? Will they degrade?
- Will the data be reproducible?
- Do you need tools or software to create/process/visualize the data?
- How much data?
- Will it grow?
- How often will it change?
Documentation & Metadata
- Think about what is needed to make your data 'independently understandable'
- How will you capture this information over the life of the project?
- What directory and file naming conventions will be used?
- Is there a descriptive schema or metadata standard commonly used in your field?
Storage & Backup
- What are the strategies for storage and backup of the data?
- Use the '3-2-1 Rule': 3 copies, 2 formats, and at least 1 off-site copy
- Are you aware of backup options at TMU?
Preservation
- Think about preservation-friendly, non-proprietary formats.
- Where will you deposit your data for long-term preservation and access?
Sharing & Reuse
- Think about what data you'll be sharing (raw data, processed data...)
- Consider what end-user license you might use.
- How will others learn about your data?
Responsibilities & Resources
- Who in your research group will be responsible for data management?
- Who controls the data (PI, student, lab, funder)?
- What resources are required to manage your data?
Ethics & Legal Compliance
- Consider how you'll store and transfer sensitive data securely.
- Consider how you'll manage secondary use of sensitive data.
- Can a 'public' (anonymized, de-identified) version of your data be created?
- How will you manage legal, ethical, and intellectual property issues?

*Copied with permission from Queen's University Library's RDM Libguide.

Data Collection

What file formats will your data be collected in? Will these formats allow for data re-use, sharing and long-term access to the data?

File Formats chapter from Curation Reference Manual Chapter
The goal of digital curation is to ensure the appropriate usability of managed digital assets over time. Format is a fundamental characteristic of a digital asset that governs its ability to be used effectively.
Without strong format typing a digital asset is merely an undifferentiated string of bits. The information content encoded into an asset's bits can only be interpreted properly and rendered in human-sensible form if that asset's format is known.
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While it is possible for bits to be preserved indefinitely without consideration of format, it is only through the careful management of format that the meaning of those bits remains accessible over time.
This instalment investigates aspects of format description, validation, and characterisation that may assist with long-term curation and usability of data.

The JISC-funded Digital Curation Centre (DCC) provides a focus on research into digital curation expertise and best
practice for the storage, management and preservation of digital information to enable its use and re-use over time
Table of Recommended Formats from the UK Data service
This table contains guidance on file formats recommended and accepted by the UK Data Service for data sharing, reuse and preservation.
Research Data Preservation Formats
Information about Research Data Preservation Formats from the University of Western Australia Research Data Management Toolkit
Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections
The Sustainability of Digital Formats Web site provides information about digital content formats.

What conventions and procedures will you use to structure, name and version-control your files to help you and others better understand how your data are organized?

TMU Records Management File Naming tip sheet
MIT Data Management File Naming and folder hierarchy strategy and resources
UCD Dublin RDM Suggestions on File Management
File naming strategies, File renaming tools, information about version control
UCD Dublin RDM Suggestions on Version Control
information about version control
Organizing Files: File Naming and Version Control
University of Virginia Library Research Data Services information for tools for renaming files and version control

Storage and Backup

How and where will your data be stored and backed up during your research project?

CCS Server Hosting, Fees and Chargebacks
Compute Canada Rapid Access Service
Any Compute Canada user can access modest quantities of compute, storage and cloud resources as soon as they have a Compute Canada account. This Rapid Access Service (RAS) allows users to experiment and to start working right away. Many research groups can meet their needs through using the Rapid Access Service only.
TU Delft Research Data Management Costing Guide
Developed by TU Delft to help their researchers and staff to determine costs and staffing requirements in project proposals.
Suggested questions about your project which will help estimate the data management needs of your project.

Sharing and Reuse

Have you considered what type of end-user license to include with your data?

How to License Research Data
This guide will help you decide how to apply a licence to your research data, and which licence would be most suitable. It should provide you with an awareness of why licensing data is important, the impact licences have on future research, and the potential pitfalls to avoid. It concentrates on the UK context, though some aspects apply internationally; it does not, however, provide legal advice. The guide should interest both the principal investigators and researchers responsible for the data, and those who provide access to them through a data centre, repository or archive.
Learn more about Creative Common Licenses
The Creative Commons copyright licenses and tools forge a balance inside the traditional “all rights reserved” setting that copyright law creates. Our tools give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work. The combination of our tools and our users is a vast and growing digital commons, a pool of content that can be copied, distributed, edited, remixed, and built upon, all within the boundaries of copyright law.
A guide to copyright
introduction to copyright and copyright registration from the Government of Canada.
Research Data Rights Management Guide
A practical guide for people and organisations working with data about rights information and licences, and to raise awareness of the implications of not having licences on data.
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This guide is primarily directed toward members of
the research sector, particularly data rightsholders
users and suppliers. Some general reference is made
to characteristics and management of government
data, acknowledging that this kind of data can be
input to the research process.

What steps will be taken to help the research community know that your data exists?

Repository Options in Canada: A Portage Guide (PDF)
Portage supports two national repository options: the Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR) and Dataverse North. As a part of Portage’s Federated Architecture Model, we have partnered with Compute Canada, OCUL Scholars Portal, and institutions offering Dataverse to provide hosted repository options that do not require installing, configuring, patching, or upgrading by individual institutions or researchers.
Primer - Dataverse
(a brief guide for busy people)
This brief guide presents key information for researchers to understand Dataverse,
its features, and how to access and use it.

Ethics and Legal Compliance

If your research project includes sensitive data, how will you ensure that it is securely managed and accessible only to approved members of the project?

If applicable, what strategies will you undertake to address secondary uses of sensitive data?

How will you manage legal, ethical, and intellectual property issues?

CCS - Data Destruction Services
Research Ethics at Toronto Metropolitan University
OVPRI has additional information and resources on research ethics.