Elements of a Data Management Plan
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| Element | Description | Recommended? | NSF Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data description | A description of the information to be gathered; the nature and scale of the data that will be generated or collected. | Yes | Expected Data |
| Existing data | A survey of existing data relevant to the project and a discussion of whether and how these data will be integrated. | Yes | Expected Data |
| Format | Formats in which the data will be generated, maintained, and made available, including a justification for the procedural and archival appropriateness of those formats. | Yes | Data Format and Dissemination |
| Metadata | A description of the metadata to be provided along with the generated data, and a discussion of the metadata standards used. | Yes | Data Format and Dissemination |
| Storage and backup | Storage methods and backup procedures for the data, including the physical and cyber resources and facilities that will be used for the effective preservation and storage of the research data. | Yes | Data Storage and Preservation of Access |
| Security | A description of technical and procedural protections for information, including confidential information, and how permissions, restrictions, and embargoes will be enforced. | Yes | Data Format and Dissemination |
| Responsibility | Names of the individuals responsible for data management in the research project. | Yes | Roles and Responsibility |
| Intellectual property rights | Entities or persons who will hold the intellectual property rights to the data, and how IP will be protected if necessary. Any copyright constraints (e.g., copyrighted data collection instruments) should be noted. | Yes | Data Format and Dissemination |
| Access and sharing | A description of how data will be shared, including access procedures, embargo periods, technical mechanisms for dissemination and whether access will be open or granted only to specific user groups. A timeframe for data sharing and publishing should also be provided. | Yes | Data Storage and Preservation of Access |
| Audience | The potential secondary users of the data. | Yes | Data Format and Dissemination |
| Selection and retention periods | A description of how data will be selected for archiving, how long the data will be held, and plans for eventual transition or termination of the data collection in the future. | Yes | Period of Data Retention |
| Archiving and preservation | The procedures in place or envisioned for long-term archiving and preservation of the data, including succession plans for the data should the expected archiving entity go out of existence. | Yes | Data Storage and Preservation of Access |
| Ethics and privacy | A discussion of how informed consent will be handled and how privacy will be protected, including any exceptional arrangements that might be needed to protect participant confidentiality, and other ethical issues that may arise. | Yes | Data Format and Dissemination |
| Budget | The costs of preparing data and documentation for archiving and how these costs will be paid. Requests for funding may be included. | ||
| Data organization | How the data will be managed during the project, with information about version control, naming conventions, etc. | ||
| Quality Assurance | Procedures for ensuring data quality during the project. | ||
| Legal requirements | A listing of all relevant federal or funder requirements for data management and data sharing. |