Presented at Loughborough University 18 Sept 2013

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Sarah Jones and Angus Whyte
Digital Curation Centre
sarah.jones@glasgow.ac.uk Twitter: sjDCC
Supporting Data Management Planning

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What is a DMP?
Why are they important?
What do funders require?
What are risks of not doing it?
What is good practice?
Wkat kinds of support?

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What is a Data Management Plan?
A brief plan written at the start of a project to define:
 What data will be collected or created
 How the data will be documented and described
 How legal and ethical requirements will be addressed
 Where the data will be stored, its security and backup
 Which data will be shared and/or preserved
 How the data will be shared and with whom

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Why support researchers to plan?
“Institutional and project
specific data management
policies and plans should be
in accordance with relevant
standards and community
best practice…”
RCUK Data Policy http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/research/Pages/DataPolicy.aspx
University wants it to happen
Funders want you to do it!

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Why support researchers to plan?
“The modern data-rich environment
for research and learning and the
open culture that is needed to exploit
it presents new challenges for
Universities…
1 creating a setting that will
encourage researchers to adapt their
ways of working and
developing, and
2 implementing strategies to
manage the knowledge that they
create.”
Science as an open enterprise - The Royal Society 2012 p.71
Learned societies want you to!


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How do DMPs help researchers?
Planning is useful whether or not the DMP needs submitted
with a grant application, as it can help the researchers to…
1 Make informed decisions to anticipate and avoid
problems
2 Avoid duplication, data loss and security breaches
3 Develop procedures early on for consistency
4 Ensure data are accurate, complete, reliable and
secure
5 Save time and effort to make their lives easier!

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Which funders require a DMP?
www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/policy-and-legal/ overview-funders-data-policies
n.b. EPSRC does not require DMPs submitted but expects institution to support

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What do research funders want?
 A brief plan submitted in grant applications, and in the
case of NERC, a more detailed plan once funded
 1-3 sides of A4 as attachment or a section in Je-S form
 Typically a prose statement covering suggested themes
 An outline of data management and sharing
plans, justifying decisions and any limitations

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What are the risks of not doing it?
 Bids with technical ambitions that can’t be
delivered on
 Legal non-compliance DPA, FOI…etc.
 Inability to scrutinise –> damage to
research integrity, reputation, retractions
 Loss of data or (re)usability
 Research outputs lack visibility
 Public communication diminished
 Potential loss of research income
Loss- of reputation, research record, value and ££

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Guidance, tools & examples

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Follow guidance from funders e.g.
MRC audio clip on what to include in plans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukVHHKp6sck
WellcomeTrust FAQ
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Policy/Spotlight-
issues/Data-sharing/Guidance-for-researchers/index.htm
ESRC guidance for peer-reviewers
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/Data-Management-Plan-
Guidance-for-peer-reviewers_tcm8-15569.pdf

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Six common themes
1. Description of data to be collected / created
(i.e. content, type, format, volume, standards...)
2. Documentation and metadata
(what, how, why… )
3. Ethics and legal compliance
(e.g. consent, privacy, confidential data, copyright and IPR)
4. Storage and backup
(how & when, security mgmt)
5. Selection and preservation
(what retained and how preserved)
6. Data sharing
(how, when, limits)

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A useful framework to get started
Brief explanations
of questions
Sample
statements
www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/datamanagement/dmp/framework.html

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Help from the DCC
https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk
www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/
how-guides/develop-data-plan

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DMPonline – Creating a plan
Select your
funder (if any)
Select
relevant uni
for DMP
questions and
guidance
Select other
sources of
guidance

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DMPonline – Questions and guidance
Easy-format text
boxes to answer
Can pre-populate
boxes with
example /
suggested
answers
Guidance appears
in right-hand panel

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Example plans
 Technical appendix submitted to AHRC by Bristol Uni
http://data.bris.ac.uk/files/2013/02/data.bris-AHRC-Technical-Plan-v21.pdf
 Rural Economy & Land Use (RELU) programme examples
http://relu.data-archive.ac.uk/data-sharing/planning/examples
 UCSD example DMPs (20+ scientific plans for NSF)
http://rci.ucsd.edu/dmp/examples.html
 U.Michigan Engineering example and tutorial
https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/data-management-workshop-series-
2013/module7
 My DMP – a satire (what not to write!)
http://ivory.idyll.org/blog/data-management.html

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Data sharing examples
 Access to these materials are available either free or at low costs when those
interested in the materials sign a Memorandum of Understanding stating; 1)
they are a non-profit or research organization 2) they will not use the materials
in paid consultancy nor charge others for use of the materials 3) they will
reference the materials in any publications or presentations 4) they will not
change the materials without our permission. [1]
 When required to make the data available by my program manager, my
collaborators, and ultimately by law, I will grudgingly do so by placing the raw
data on an FTP site, named with UUIDs like 4e283d36-61c4-11df-9a26-
edddf420622d. I will under no circumstances make any attempt to provide
analysis source code, documentation for formats, or any metadata with the raw
data. [2]
[1] Engineering DMP Example by John Fontanesi from UCSD
[2] My DMP – a satire, by C. Titus Brown

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Restrictions on sharing
 The data will be deposited with [repository] but not
disseminated for one year to give the investigators
time to publish their findings. [1]
 Any design notes on the data analysis are in our
private e-mail, and we will fight to the death - up to
and including ignoring FOI requests - to prevent you
from obtaining them. [2]
[1] ICPSR Framework for Creating a Data Management Plan
[2] My DMP – a satire, by C. Titus Brown

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Supporting researchers to
write DMPs

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Basic guidance and support
University RDM policies typically require DMPs
- this entails guidance to researchers e.g.
 Templates listing themes/questions to cover
 Custom guidance for the institution or discipline
 Links to local contacts and support
 A library of successful DMPs to reuse

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Enhanced support
Online tools
Training courses
Consultancy services

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You can customise DMPonline
Select desired
questions
Add your logo, colours, URL…
Profile local support
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/news/customising-dmponline

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Embed flags / alerts in grant system
e.g. University of Leicester

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Tips to offer on writing DMPs
Keep it simple, short and specific
Seek advice - consult and collaborate
Base plans on available skills and support
Make sure implementation is feasible
Justify any resources or restrictions needed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OJtiA53-Fk

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Thanks – any questions?
DCC guidance, tools and case studies:
www.dcc.ac.uk/resources
Follow us on twitter:
@digitalcuration and #ukdcc