Skip to Main Content
Banner Image

Research Data Management: Data management plans

Tips and best practices for data management across disciplines.

DMP Guidance and Examples

Introduction

What is a Data Management Plan?

A Data Management Plan (DMP) is a document outlining how data will be collected, processed, analyzed, described, preserved, and shared during the entirety of a research project's lifecycle. Many federal funding agencies, some non-profit granting agencies, and even corporate funders now require grant applicants to submit a data management plan. 

This guide can serve as a resource to familiarize yourself with DMPs and how to properly write one using the information and tools highlighted on this page. If you have specific questions about data management plans or the DMPTool, please contact datahelp@uta.edu. Or if you would like to make an appointment for a DMP consultation please visit: https://libraries.uta.edu/research/data.

About DMPTool

The DMPTool is a collaborative effort among several universities to streamline the data management planning process. UTA is an institutional partner of the DMPTool, so you can choose UTA as your institution and sign in with your NetID and password, eliminating the need for a separate account.

The DMPTool supports the majority of federal and many non-profit and private funding agencies that require data management plans as part of a grant application. If the funder you're applying to isn't listed or you just want to create one as good practice, there is an option for a generic plan.

Mandates for Funders Requiring DMPs

National Institutes of Health

The NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy “applies to all research, funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH, that results in the generation of scientific data.” The NIH defines scientific data as, “data commonly accepted in the scientific community as being of sufficient quality to validate and replicate the research findings.” The types of research funding that fall under the NIH policy includes extramural grants, contracts, Intramural Research Projects, or other funding agreements regardless of funding level or mechanism.

NIH’s DMS Policy requires:

  • “Submission of a Data Management and Sharing Plan outlining how scientific data and any accompanying metadata will be managed and shared, taking into account any potential restrictions or limitations”
  • “Compliance with the awardee’s plan as approved by the NIH ICO”

For more information on NIH's DMP requirements, or to read the full policy, please visit: http://www.grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_guidance.htm

To view the answers to frequently asked questions about the DMS Policy, please visit:
https://sharing.nih.gov/faqs#/data-management-and-sharing-policy.htm?anchor=11822

National Science Foundation

The NSF Data Sharing Policy requires that funded investigators include a document in their proposals that outline how they share with other researchers, at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable time, the primary data, samples, physical collections, and other supporting materials created or gathered in the course of work under an NSF awards. These documents are no more than two pages and should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results. The content of this document may include:

  • “The types of data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, and other materials to be produced in the course of the project”
  • "The standards to be used for data and metadata format and content (where existing standards are absent or deemed inadequate, this should be documented along with any proposed solutions or remedies)"
  • "Policies for access and sharing including provisions for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements"
  • "Policies and provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the production of derivatives"
  • "Plans for archiving data, samples, and other research products, and for preservation of access to them"

For more information on the NSF's Data Sharing Policy, please visit:
https://new.nsf.gov/funding/data-management-plan

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA's Open Science and Data Management Plan (OSDMP) must be included with all proposals unless otherwise stated. The OSDMP must address how publications, data, and software will be made available and must address the following elements with the appropriate level of detail:

  • "A description of data types, volume, formats, and (where relevant) standards;"
  • "A description of the schedule for data archiving and sharing;"
  • "A description of the intended repositories for archived data, including mechanisms for public access and distribution;"
  • "A discussion of how the plan enables long-term preservation of data;"
  • "A discussion of roles and responsibilities of team members in accomplishing the OSDMP. If funds are required for data management activities, these should be covered in the normal budget and budget justification sections of the proposal."

Data that is needed to validate the scientific conclusions of peer-reviewed publications resulting from a NASA award must be made available at the time of publication. The remaining scientifically useful data must be made available at the end of the award. "Made available" means publicly and electronically archived in a place where it can be found and it is likely to persist.

For more information on NASA's Open Science and Data Management Plan Policy, please visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/faqs/osdmp/

Department of Defense

The DoD Data Management Plan will describe the scientific data created or gathered as part of DoD intramural and extramural research. The plan will describe how and where the data will be made available to the public and explicitly describe how the data that underlies scientific publications will be available for discovery, retrieval, and analysis. This plan will outline the sharing of research results and may include:

  • “The types of data, software, curriculum materials, and other materials to be produced in the course of the project that are publicly releasable;”
  • “The standards to be used for data and metadata format and content;”
  • “Conditions for access and sharing including provisions for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements;”
  • “Conditions and provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the creation of derivative works; and”
  • “Plans for archiving datasets, or data samples, and other digitally formatted scientific data, and for preservation of access thereto.”
  • “If, for legitimate reasons, the data cannot be preserved and made available for public access, the plan will include a justification citing such reasons.”

For more information on the DoD's Data Management Plan Policy, please visit:
https://discover.dtic.mil/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dod_public_access_plan_feb2015.pdf

Department of Energy

The DoE Data Management Plan will describe research data created or gathered as part of DoE funded research. Submitted plans will describe how relevant research data was captured, analyzed, shared, and preserved. All DMPs submitted to any DOE sponsoring office should meet the following requirements:

  • "DMPs should describe whether and how data generated in the course of the proposed research will be shared and preserved and, at a minimum, describe how data sharing and preservation will enable validation of results, or how results could be validated if data are not shared or preserved."
  • "DMPs should provide a plan for making all research data displayed in publications resulting from the proposed research open, machine-readable, and digitally accessible to the public at the time of publication. This includes data that are displayed in charts, figures, images, etc. In addition, the underlying digital research data used to generate the displayed data should be made as accessible as possible."

For more information on the DoE's Data Management Plan Policy, please visit:
https://www.energy.gov/datamanagement/doe-requirements-and-guidance-digital-research-data-management

Department of Transportation

The DoT's Data Management Policy requires that submitted DMPs "describe how the research proposal conforms to DOT policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results. Each plan should include a 2-3 page narrative description covering:

  • The final research data to be produced in the course of the project;
  • The standards to be used for data and metadata format and content;
  • Policies for access and sharing the final research data, including provisions for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, and other rights or requirements;
  • Policies and provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the production of derivatives; and
  • Plans for archiving final research data and other research products, and for preservation of access to them.

DOT-funded research projects are expected to be conducted pursuant to the approved DMP. A DMP may evolve as the research project evolves and should be reviewed for possible revision whenever a data management procedure is changed."

For more information on DoT's DMP requirements, or to read the full policy, please visit: 
https://ntl.bts.gov/ntl/public-access/creating-data-management-plans-extramural-research

National Endowment for the Humanities

The NEH Data Management Policy requires DMP's to be no more than two pages and should "describe the types of data, samples, physical collections, software, curriculum materials, or other materials to be produced in the course of the project. It should then describe the expected types of data to be retained.

Project directors should address matters such as these in the DMP:

  • the types of data that their project might generate and eventually share with others, and under what conditions;
  • how data will be managed and maintained until shared with others;
  • factors that might impinge on their ability to manage data, for example, legal and ethical restrictions on access to non-aggregated data;
  • the lowest level of aggregated data that project directors might share with others in the scholarly or scientific community, given that community’s norms on data;
  • the mechanism for sharing data and/or making it accessible to others; and
  • other types of information that should be maintained and shared regarding data, for example, the way it was generated, analytical and procedural information, and the metadata."

For more information on NEH's DMP requirements, or to read the full policy, please visit:
https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/Data%20Management%20Plans%2C%202019.pdf

Data Management Librarian