Writing a data management plan

The University of Liverpool supports DMPonline which is a great tool to use, and is supported by UK funders and Universities.

A DMP online plan can be created, shared, reviewed and downloaded via the tool.  Data management plans can be revisited and adapted at various stages during your research project.

  • Set up an account using your University email address and UoL affiliation (this way you can request feedback if needed).
  • Start to create a plan, including your (potential) funder, if applicable.
  • Once you start writing your plan you will be able to access guidance from your selected funder, the University and Digital Curation Centre in the tabs to the right (or bottom if you access via a mobile phone)
  • You can request feedback from the Liverpool Research Data team if you wish. There is a tab on the front page of your plan to enable you do this.

The RDM Department hold regular Drop-In Sessions where researchers can discuss any issues they may have in completing Data Management Plans. These sessions are normally promoted on the Library Events pages.

The what, why and how of data management planning

What does your funder require?

Partners and collaborators

  • If the University is not the leading institution in a research collaboration, then you should make yourself aware of what is required and what the lead institution will facilitate.
  • When the project is completed, no matter where the data is deposited, it would be of great benefit to have a record of where the data is, in the Liverpool Research Data Catalogue, linking to the actual dataset and the project’s outputs

Anonymisation and Security

  • If you are dealing with sensitive, personal or special category data, anonymise it as soon as possible and limit access to the raw data. Levels of confidentiality and security depend upon the type of research being carried out. You will have to consider copyright, GDPR, and the commercial sensitivity of the data you work with and create.

Ethics

  • If you are completing a data management plan to accompany an application for funding, you will need to consider whether or not your proposed research projectwill require ethics  approval if successful. This will influence the way you manage your data, due to the sensitive data you may handle. Ethics have a useful tool to help you decide if you will need approval.