This section provides some resources for addressing the NSF requirement for DMPs. It includes references to examples, data management tools, and data repositories. Please note: As data are unique, and tools for collection, storage, and analysis are technically evolving, the requirements for specific data sets will be, as NSF states, "determined by the community of interest and subject to the process of peer review and program management” within the NSF. NSF program directors are to act as consultants to help researchers best determine what constitutes an adequate data plan including giving data archive referrals.

Research Library Websites on Data Management Planning

ARL member libraries with structured comprehensive data management plans:

• University of California, San Diego

• University of Connecticut

• Duke University Libraries

• University of Hawaii at Manoa Library

• Johns Hopkins University

• University of Michigan

• University of Minnesota

• MIT Library

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• University of Oregon

• University of Virginia Library

• University of Wisconsin

Resources about Developing DMPs:

• Australia National Data Services (ANDS)

• California Digital Library: University of California Curation Center (UC3)

• Johns Hopkins University: Data Management Planning Questionnaire

• Digital Curation Centre: Data Management Plans

• Griffith University Library (Australia): Data Management

• Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)

  • DMP guidance
  • Examples of DMPs
  • DMP resources

• JISC: Managing Research Data

• Monash University (Australia): Data Management Planning

• NIH: Key Elements to Consider in Preparing a Data Sharing Plan

• UK Data Archive: Managing and Sharing Data (PDF)

• University of Oxford: Research Data Management

NSF Guidance on Specific Data Management Plans

Certain directorates within the NSF, however, provide explicit guidelines and advice on forming data management plans. As of November 2010 these directorates are the following:

• Engineering Directorate

  • Directorate-wide guidance (PDF)

• Geological Sciences Directorate

  • Division of Earth Sciences (PDF)
  • Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (PDF)
  • Division of Ocean Sciences (PDF)

• Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate

  • Directorate-wide guidance

• Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences Directorate

  • Directorate-wide guidance (PDF)
  • Data Archiving Policy

Additional guidance may be found at “Data Management & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)” on the NSF website.

Data Curation, Digital Curation, and Data Archive Resources (U.S. and International)

• DataConservancy

• Digital Curation Centre

• Purdue University: Distributed Data Curation Center

• UK Data Archive

Data Repositories

• Cornell/DataStaR

• DataOne

• Dataverse Network Project

• Dryad

• Purdue University/D2C2 List of “Other Data Repositories”

• Wikipedia List of Open Data Repositories

Tools for DMPs and Assessing Research Data Needs

• Data Asset Framework (University of Glasgow, JISC, Digital Curation Centre)

• DMP Online (Digital Curation Centre)

• MIT’s “Data Planning Checklist”

• University of Oxford Data Management Planning Checklist

• Purdue University’s “Conducting a Data Interview”

• Purdue University’s Data Curation Profiles Toolkit (project description)

• Stanford University’s “Questions to Ask as You Prepare a Grant Proposal”

Authors: Patricia Hswe and Ann Holt