Data Management

Why a data management plan?

It may be required by your publisher.

It may be required by the terms of your grant.

Your content may have future uses that you haven't even thought of yet.

Don't be this guy.

A good data management plan will:

• Describe the types, formats, and metadata (descriptive information) of the content;
• Outline roles and responsibilities for the maintenance of the content;
• Detail the planned methods for data storage and preservation;
• Address access, sharing, and privacy concerns.

You want your data to be:

• In a widely-readable format (e.g., .xlsx is good, .csv is better)
• Stored in multiple locations (LOCKSS-- Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe)
• Understandable to someone from outside of the original research team (have a Readme or Click Me file that explains how to understand the data)

Tools to help