Data management plan
A data management plan (DMP) is both a formal document and a practical tool. Both research funders and the OsloMet institution require research projects to have a DMP.
Depending on the field of research and the needs of the project, the DMP may take different forms. The DMP should be considered a living document and be revised as the project develops.
If you lack a good plan for data management, the project risks breaking laws and agreements. The result could be having to repay granted funds, fines, judgement, and loss of reputation for both researchers and OsloMet.
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Purpose of the Data Management Plan
Writing a data management plan will:
- Help you establish good data management routines in your project, including ethical, legal, and privacy aspects.
- Make it easier to have a unified approach to data management within a research group.
- Help you create a preservation plan for your data, and gather all necessary documentation to archive data according to FAIR principles (openly or with controlled access).
- Help you choose the right storage and backup solutions, thereby avoiding data loss or breaches of information security.
(ref. Purpose of a Data Management Plan | DMP Support Package (dhp-stottepakke.github.io))
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Content of a Data Management Plan
The data management plan is intended to aid in planning for good management of research data in advance, during, and at the conclusion of a project. The plan is a living document that is updated as often as necessary.
The data management plan describes:
- What data is collected and generated in the project
- The organization of data
- Metadata and documentation
- Which storage solutions are best suited for the research data
- Ethical obstacles, laws, or other encumbrances that prevent the data from being shared completely openly after the project or publication
- License for use of the research data after they are shared
- Information about archiving and making data available
- Responsibility for research data in a project
There are no clear guidelines for how detailed a data management plan should be, but at a general level, one can say that the plan should contain information on how the security of the data will be maintained.
Three stakeholder groups that set requirements for the content of the plan: i) Researcher - the research project, ii) The institution – for requirements on information security, legislation and research ethics, iii) Funder
Responsibility
OsloMet as an institution is responsible for the correct handling of research data.
It must be clarified who will be ultimately responsible for the project's data management and any distribution of responsibility for managing the various activities around data capture, establishment of metadata, data quality, storage, security, archiving and sharing in the project.
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Templates, Tools and Guides
There are various templates that can be used to create a DMP. OsloMet does not dictate which template you should use. It is recommended that you investigate whether the funder requires a specific template.
Data Management Support Package in UB-BOTT
(under development)Currently, a project is underway in the higher education sector where the purpose is to develop a 'data management support package'.
When it is completed (Q4 2024), the 'support package' will, in addition to offering various templates, include guides for both those who are administratively associated with a research project and for those who are researchers or students.
The first version of the support package is already available and can be found on this page (dhp-stottepakke.github.io). Note! templates are not ready, only guidelines:
Supporting information for Users (dhp-stottepakke.github.io)
DMP Knowledge Base (for support staff) (dhp-stottepakke.github.io)
SIKT (data management plan)
SIKT offers a Data Management Plan, a simple tool that can be used either alone or as part of the Notification Form service at SIKT.SIKT's solution is in Norwegian and appears somewhat less thorough and rich in content than some of the other solutions (Horizon Europe, umbrella DMP, Science Europe).
Currently, SIKT's tool is under revision and OsloMet is waiting for a plan from SIKT on possible further development.
Data management plans for EU projects
OpenAIRE
OpenAIRE template (argos) (openAire.eu)
Horizon
Guidelines on FAIR Data Management in Horizon 2020 (ec.europa.eu)
Other resources
Data Management Expert Guide (cessda.eu).