Writing a Data Management Plan

Writing a Data Management Plan

Syllabus

Introduction

Research data management (RDM) concerns the organisation of data, from its entry to the research life cycle through the dissemination and archiving of the results. It aims to ensure reliable verification of results, contributes to research transparency and integrity, and permits reuse of data, which in its turn enables new and innovative research built on existing information. As part of the research process, proper RDM aims to make the research process as efficient as possible. RDM involves, among other things, storage of data during your research, protection of sensitive data, and data archiving after your research.

In this training, we will discuss why RDM is necessary and how it can be beneficial to your research. The readings will provide you with practical guidelines and instruments to manage your data properly. In the readings, the FAIR principles (that is, principles to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) are addressed. In addition, we will present which facilities and what kind of support exists at VUmc and VU Amsterdam for RDM. An important tool for RDM concerns a data management plan (DMP), which is a living document in which researchers develop a plan for managing their research data. The aim of this RDM training is that participants write a DMP that is beneficial to their research.

Medical research

Medical research has a long tradition of setting up Clinial DMPs. Over the past few years, this type of DMP has been extended with a Research DMP. These two types of DMP have been integrated in the VUmc DMP template, as you will see when you go through all the information on this website. All parts of this template are important, but in this training we will focus on the part that concerns the aspects typically associated with a Research DMP (e.g. data description, data storage during research, sharing data with colleagues, data archiving after research and data citation). We will also address the ethical and legal framework, including the General Data Protection Regulation (the European law on privacy).

Contact

Please get in touch with rdm@vu.nl in case you have questions.

Learner's objectives

By participating fully in this class, you will be able to:

  • identify the relevant components of a data management plan (DMP)
  • explain the “FAIR principles”
  • explain how research data management (RDM) can support your research workflow
  • reflect on how the “FAIR principles” and “VU-policies on RDM” contribute to the integrity and transparency of your research
  • create a DMP which supports your research
  • reflect on the function of a DMP while aiming for a reproducible and transparent research practice
  • identify which parties provide RDM-support and how to reach them

Please note that you can get a certificate for participation in this training, worth 1 EC. In order to obtain this certificate, you are required to participate in all parts of this training, that is: submit a first draft of your DMP before the workshop, participate in the workshop and submit a final version of your DMP.

Estimated time investment

Preparation (reading materials) 10 hours
Study DMP templates and choose one for the assignment 2 hours
Write first draft of DMP 8 hours
Discuss DMP with your supervisor(s) 1 hour
Workshop 3 hours
Finalise your DMP 4 hours
Total

28 hours

(= 1 EC)

 

Requested preparation

Readings

The main goal of this training is to write a Data Management Plan (DMP) for your research project. Please start your preparation by studying the following materials:

  • Deursen, N. van (2017). Research Data Management – Guidelines for Information Security (see below).
    • Please note: This document is mostly based on data storage and sharing facilities at VU Amsterdam. Depending on whether you work at VU Amsterdam or somewhere else, the facilities hosted at VU Amsterdam might or might not be available to you. The document also lists some institution-independent solutions, like SURFdrive and SURFfilesender, which are potentially useful for everyone. In addition, the document addresses some more general issues like a safe work station, researchers' responsibilities regarding information security, preventing data loss, which constitutes useful background information for setting up a DMP. I recommend you to scan this document and see which information you can use.
  • LibGuide Research Data Management. Read the texts and watch the movies.
  • Michener, W. (2015). Ten Simple Rules for Creating a Good Data Management Plan, Plos Computational Biology 11 (10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004525
  • Policies (choose the ones relevant for you):
    • Amsterdam UMC (2019). Research Data Management. Standard operating procedure (see below for the relevant document; please note that at the time of writing (16-1-2019) the SOP still needs to be officially approved).
    • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2016). Research Data Management Policy (see below for the relevant document and the VU website for a summary).
    • Policy documents or guidelines from your faculty or department. See the LibGuide for an overview of faculty RDM policies at the VU.
  • VSNU (2018). Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, sections: 3.2.10-3.2.11; 3.3.23-3.3.26; 3.4.35; 3.4.45. VSNU website.
  • Wilkinson, M.D. et al. (2016). The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Scientific Data 3. https://doi:10.1038/sdata.2016.18

Choose a template for your DMP

Choose a template for your DMP. Depending on where you work, you have different options.

DMPs at VU

If you work at VU Amsterdam, we strongly encourage you to use our institutional template, which comes in two versions:

  • One for research that involves personal data, in the sense of the General Data Protection Regulation, so all data that could directly or indirectly identify an individual

  • One for research in which no personal data are involved

Please use the template that is suitable for your research project.

You can set up your DMP based on one of these templates in the tool DMPonline, which enables you to create a DMP based on questions in this online tool. You can find both templates in this tool. The tool also includes guidance on how to write a DMP and you can share your DMP with others and request feedback.

You can select one of the VU templates by taking the following steps (see also the picture below).

  1. On your dashboard, click on 'Create plan'.
  2. Enter the title of your research project (in your case, you don't have to select the check box for mock testing).
  3. Select 'Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam' as your primary research organisation.
  4. For the question on primary funding organisation, select the check box on the right, saying that no funder is associated with your plan.
  5. When you check that box, a new question appears, where you can select the templates from the VU. Select the appropriate template.

Selecting a VU DMP template in DMPonline

If you receive funding from a funding agency that requires you to use their template, you can use the template they provide. For example, check out the NWO website for their template, or the H2020 template from the European Commission. These templates are also included in DMPonline like the one for ZonMw and our institutional templates.

If for some reason it doesn't work for you to create your DMP in DMPonline, please get in touch with rdm@vu.nl.

DMPs at VUmc

If you work at VUmc, the choice for a template depends on the following distinction:

  • Researchers conducting research involving human subjects (both WMO and non-WMO), or research that has to comply with GCP or ISO14155, have to use the 'Amsterdam UMC DMP template' (see the documents at the bottom of this page)
  • Researchers conducting preclinical research, e.g. on animals, cell lines or body material, are encouraged to use the 'Amsterdam UMC DMP template', even though preclinical research falls outsite the scope of the SOP for RDM at VUmc (which is connected to this template). Some sections of this template might not be applicable to your research (for example about the GDPR and personal data). If that is the case, you can just indicate that in the DMP. If you have good reasons to use another template (e.g. if a funder requires a certain template), that's fine, but otherwise we suggest you use the Amsterdam UMC DMP template, since it systematically addresses relevant topics for all types of research, like research protocols and methodologies, collaboration with external parties, documenting, storing and sharing data.

Please note that if you want to be sure to receive feedback on your DMP from the RDM experts at VUmc, you have to use the Amsterdam UMC template.

What if you already have a DMP?

In case you (or the principal investigator of your project) have written a DMP for your study already (for example because the funding agency requested you to do so), you can continue working in your existing DMP. A DMP is a living document, so it is always possible to adjust it to new insights. Try to improve your current plan by filling potential gaps, being more explicit or figuring out issues that were unclear at the moment the plan was set up.

Some issues to keep in mind in such situations:

  • If you continue working in an existing DMP for this course, please indicate this somewhere in the DMP
  • It should be clear to us who is the author of the DMP and, in case you enrich an already existing DMP, which parts of the DMP are your contribution in the context of the course

In case there is a DMP already at the level of an overarching research project, but not for your individual part of the project, we strongly encourage you to set up a separate DMP for your part of the project. It is important that you think about all aspects of RDM for your part and this works best if you have to set up a complete DMP for your part of the project.

Some issues to keep in mind in such situations:

  • If there are certain agreements at the level of the overarching project that affect your choices, please indicate this in your DMP
  • Make sure that the DMP is a self-explanatory document

Define your data assets

An important starting point for your DMP is a concise and elaborate list of your ‘data assets’, i.e. all the different parts of your prospective dataset. For example, the raw data and the analysed data of your research might constitute separate data assets. In addition, files of a more administrative nature, like informed consent forms or contact details of your participants, are considered to be data as well and as such, need to be managed. You can find an example of a list of data assets on the LibGuide Research Data Management. Not all templates readily facilitate a list of data assets, so if the template of your choice does not have a separate section for your ‘data assets’, create one yourself.

Write a first draft of your DMP

Once you have figured out what your data assets will be and what their properties are, you can develop your DMP. Answer the questions for all your data assets and be as explicit as possible. Guidelines for writing a DMP can be found in the LibGuide Research Data Management (see reading materials). On the website of the Digital Curation Centre you can also find some practical guidelines for writing a DMP.

Self-explanatory

Please note that a DMP should be a self-explanatory document. This means that an outsider should be able to understand what is written in the DMP without having to consult other files. You may of course refer to other files where relevant, but the core properties of the way in which you will handle your data will have to be explained in your DMP.

An important aspect that researchers do not always discuss in their DMP is with which partners they will collaborate. This is important information when it comes to e.g. data sharing with your partners or data ownership. Please make sure that you include information about whether there are partners in your project, and if so, who they are and what their role is. This kind of information is typically part of a research proposal, but with respect to being self-explanatory, the DMP should include this type of information as well.

VUnetID

The LibGuide Research Data Management discusses some facilities at the VU that can only be used if you have a VUnetID. If you do not have a VUnetID, please be aware that some options are unavailable. Make sure that, in your DMP, you refer to facilities that are available to you.

Discuss your DMP with your supervisor

Discuss your DMP with your supervisor(s). Make sure that your supervisor(s) is (are) aware of your choices regarding RDM and ask them for improvements. Also check whether your department has implicit or explicit agreements on for example which file storing or sharing facilities can or should be used. It is also useful to check whether there are common practices in your discipline. Below, you can find a rubric and a brief manual that your supervisor(s) can use to review your DMP. Please send them this document, so that they know where your request comes from and how they can deal with it.

Submit first version of your DMP

Submit the draft of your DMP by uploading it to the SURFdrive folder that has been set up for your course (see email that you received from the instructor).

Instructions

  • Create your DMP in DMPonline, export it to .docx format and submit that file as described below
  • File naming: Please start the name of your document with your last name
  • Submission: Via email, you received a link to a SURFdrive folder, the name of which ends in DMPs-FirstVersion. This is a so-called file drop folder, which means that people that receive this link, can only upload files in this folder (and not read or edit files). Only the instructor(s) has (have) rights to read and download the materials inside this folder. Follow the link that you receive to upload your DMP.

Deadline

Submit your DMP before the deadline (see email), so that your DMP can serve as input to the workshop. Also, please bring a hard copy of your DMP to the workshop.

Remarks

Please remember that a DMP is a living document that can be updated every time a significant change arises. Once you start your data collection, make sure you will implement your plan. Also think about how often and by whom your DMP will be reviewed during the research project.

Workshop

Workshop practicalities

During the workshop we will provide some background regarding the importance of RDM. Further, we will discuss RDM topics, such as data storage, data sharing, privacy sensitive data and data archiving in more detail. You will review each other's DMPs and you will get the opportunity to improve your own, while we are available to answer your questions.

Please bring the following things to the workshop:

  • a laptop
  • a hard copy of your DMP

Finalising

Revise your DMP

During the workshop, we discussed the most important components of DMPs and you received feedback on your DMP from fellow participants. You also had the opportunity to ask your questions to the teachers. Now is the time to finalise your document. Integrate the comments you got into your document and submit it in the Assignments section. We will provide feedback on this final version.

Submit final version of your DMP

Please submit the final version of your DMP by uploading it to the SURFdrive folder that has been set up for your course (see email that you received from the instructor).

Instructions

  • File naming: Please start the name of your document with your last name
  • Submission: Via email, you received a link to a SURFdrive folder, the name of which ends in DMPs-FinalVersion. This is a so-called file drop folder, which means that people that receive this link, can only upload files in this folder (and not read or edit files). Only the instructor(s) has (have) rights to read and download the materials inside this folder. Follow the link that you receive to upload your DMP.

Deadline

Submit your DMP before the deadline (see email). We will provide feedback on this version.

Questions

If you have questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at rdm@vu.nl.

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    Auteurs
    Jolien Scholten Je moet eerst inloggen om feedback aan de auteur te kunnen geven.
    Laatst gewijzigd
    2020-01-20 10:49:48
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