Research Data Management

A data management plan (DMP) is a short (2 pages max) but critical part of your grant application which outlines how you will collect, organize, manage, store, secure, backup, preserve, and share your data.

The particular requirements of a DMP will vary among funding agencies, so it is best to always consult the agency's resources for their specific needs. Most DMPs will ask you to provide some information about:

• An overview of the formats and types of data to be produced.

• Research methodology (data collection, processing, and analyzing).

• Roles & responsibilities in regards to data collection, description, processing, analyzing, and disseminating. 

• Standards you will use to describe your data (metadata).

• Storage and backup procedures. 

• Long-term archiving and preservation plan. 

• Access policies and provisions for secondary uses.

• Security measures taken to protect data and/or participant confidentiality.

NYU's Policy on Retention of and Access to Research Data also may factor into your DMP. Key factors in the policy include:

• You must retain research data in enough detail and for a long enough period of time to respond to questions about accuracy, authenticity, primacy, and compliance with laws and regulations governing the conduct of the research and to establish priority for patentable items.
• the PI is responsible for determining what needs to be retained.

SPARC has also has provided a webpage to help understand the data sharing requirements of granting agencies in the US.

We can help review your data management plans for upcoming grant applications. Feel free to book an appointment with us at your convenience!

DMPTool is an open source tool maintained by the California Digital Library that provides step-by-step guidance and information specific to many granting agencies and their directorates. DMPTool also contain templates for DMPs according to the funder and allows users to make their plans publicly available.

NYU is an institutional member of the DMPTool, so you can sign into the DMP Tool using your netID and password from the home page. Select "New York University" from the drop down menu and click "Go!"

We recommend using DMPTool to draft your data management plans. They provide a "Getting Started" guide to the platform that is helpful for new users.

Once you finish writing your DMP, you can always send it to your friendly data management librarians, Nick and Vicky, for review. You can either export your DMP as a .docx or .pdf file and email us, or use the "Request Feedback" feature in DMPTool to directly email us your plan for review.

You can view a wide variety of data management plans through the DMPTool on their public DMP page.