A data management plan (DMP) is a document that describes:
During the project:
What data/code will be collected/generated or reused?
How and where will the data/code be stored and backed up?
Who will have access to the data/code and how?
How will the data/code be organised and documented?
Can you easily figure out which file is what?
If you open some of the files, are they properly labelled and described?
If the individual responsible for data collection would leave the university, can you still make sense of the data without their input?
After the project:
Where will the data/code be stored and for how long?
Who will have access to the data/code and how?
What licence will be the most suitable for the data (and code)?
See The Turing Way for more details about what a Data Management Plan should contain.
How to set up a DMP?
You can use the Word templates below, or the online platform, DMPonline, to fill out your Data Management Plan.
Main differences between the online platform and word templates:
The online platform makes collaboration on templates easier as everyone will have access to the latest version
Word templates keep the original format of the template, which looks nicer.
NWO
NWO Data Section (Proposal)
ZonMw Data Section (Proposal)
ERC
Horizon Europe
Example DMP statement
To ensure optimal reuse of the data, and in adherence to TU Delft and funder policies we have the following workflow:
- (internal) Temporary data storage
- This is data stored and recorded at computers in the laboratory or during model simulations. This is not a secure/backed up storage location, so all useful data needs to be moved to the shared storage spaces at the same day to prevent data loss! We do not remove the data from measurement devices, unless the storage space is too large (>100 GB) or more space is required.
- (internal) Shared storage (see storage solutions for an overview of your options)
- Always keep a copy of the raw data before processing any data. The Project Drive is used to store raw data.
- For cloud-based storage SURFdrive or OneDrive can be used. OneDrive is more accessible for students.
- For additional back-ups the Project Drive can be used.
- (public) Published data
- Published data is publicly accessible data associated with publications. This data follows the FAIR principles and is shared on a data repository which is accessible to externals.
- We will use 4TU.ResearchData and follow their recommendations for the README file.
- Metadata: In the keywords, always include your project acronym.
- File formats: The data will be stored in open format data where possible (.csv, .txt, ASCI or text-based) or to be opened with software that is common in the field (Excel).
- Licenses: CC-BY for data and MIT for software (which places limited requirements upon reuse of the data, but does require attribution/citation).