Research Data Management

Research Data Management Plans

Good empirical research requires good data – and good research data should be carefully managed, in order to be accessible and usable in the future. A data management plan helps you plan how to organise, document, back up, and store your data in a structured way.

What are data management plans?

Planning the management of your research data means that you consider what has to be decided and done in order to work responsibly with your data throughout the entire research life cycle. Data management plans (DMPs) help you systematically think about the management of your data. They are required by more and more research funders as obligatory project deliverables - and they are useful for all research projects, large and small. CBS actually encourages researchers to write DMPs for all research projects (see CBS Research Data Management Policy, 3.1.3).

If no other specific requirements apply, e.g. funders’ requirements, it is recommended to include as a minimum the following elements in your DMP:

  • Origin and type of the research data that will be created and used throughout the project
  • Data documentation and metadata, data storage, backup, and sharing during the active research phase
  • Data selection for long-term preservation, data disposal, and data access management
  • Description of the roles and responsibilities with regard to the above processes

DMPonline: Your tool to write data management plans

DMPonline is a web tool that assists researchers in producing effective data management plans. It was originally developed by the UK-based Digital Curation Centre in close collaboration with research funders and universities. A Danish instance has been available since 2015 and continues to be developed and improved.

DMPonline contains a series of DMP templates as well as useful guidance texts that help you in writing your DMP.

The page was last edited by: CBS Library // 02/25/2019