Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP): A Guide to McFarlin Library Resources

What is a data management plan?

Data management plans outline what a researcher is going to do with their data during and after the research is concluded. DMPs typically include a description of.

• the types of data that will be created
• the standards and metadata that will be used to organize and describe the data
• how these data will be accessed and shared
• policies and provisions for the reuse of the data
• plans for the long term archiving of the data

(Source: Northwestern University Library)

Why does data management matter?

Data management is the practice of keeping research data accessible and intelligible during and after a research project is complete. Through organization, description, archiving, and sharing researchers can maintain useful data during research, or even years after a project ends.

Well-managed data is essential for researchers in all fields. Many funding agencies require applicants to plan for the longevity of their data, making it necessary for many researchers to develop sound management strategies. Additionally, keeping your research accessible and readable for the future will allow you to re-use your data for your future projects, saving you time and resources.

It can also help support your published findings. Scholarly papers are sometimes retracted due to missing or unreadable data, or debunked after examination of the original data didn't support the claims; as a result, many publications will require that scholars reveal their data when submitting articles and papers.

(Source: University of Illinois Library)

ICPSR Guide to Social Science Data Preparation and Archiving

• A very comprehensive handbook on preparing data for archiving.

UK Data Archive

• This UK site has excellent guides on data management issues.

DataOne Primer on Data Management

• Paper discusses the basics of data management.

Data Management General Guidance- DMPTool

• Gives guidance on all aspects of data management.

Project Open Data Open Data Policy — Managing Information as an Asset

• A collection of code, tools and case studied developed by the White House to help agencies adopt the Open Data Policy.

ETDplus Virtual Workshops/ Educopia

• An asynchronous virtual workshop series

Data Management Training (DMT) Clearinghouse

• A registry of Data management online learning resources

(Source: Northwestern University Library)

Sharing research data facilitates research reproducibility and the reuse of data. Depositing your data in a data repository is a best practice for data sharing because it provides long-term preservation and a stable point of access for your data. Moreover, funders and publishers are increasingly requiring that data be shared publicly and encouraging the adoption of the FAIR Principles for making data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. (Source: Northwestern University Library)

Federal funding agency requirements

• A community resource for tracking, comparing, and understanding current U.S. federal funder research data sharing policies.

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Other Data Repository Options

Repository Finder

• An aid to find an appropriate repository to deposit research data.

re3data.org

• A registry of research data repositories

Open Access Directory's list of disciplinary repositories

• A list of repositories maintained by the Open Access Directory

Source: Duke University Library

For further guidance on organizing, documenting, sharing, and preserving your data, please check out this detailed guide from the University of Illinois Library.