Getting started with Data management plans
The SNSF requires a DMP for approved applications (see SNSF guidelines ). A DMP should give information on the data life cycle. The minimum structure and content that a DMP should provide are shown in the SNSF’s DMP form. The form includes four sections:
Data collection and documentation
Ethics, legal and security issues
Data storage and preservation
data sharing and reuse.
The DMP remains editable during the entire lifetime of the grant. Its contents can be adapted as the project evolves. Thus, it is recommended to tracking changes and keep control of the versions of this document.
The DMP content con be relatively broad and they are very individual. SNSF can only do a general check on weather the minimum required content is provided. DMPs should be plausible, suit their project and meet standards by the research community.
The FAIR principles are the most important guiding principles for your DMP.
General recommendations for DMPs
Our recommendations are the following:
Use SNSF form-based templates when available.
A DMP can be a very useful tool for project management. Include enough details so that this document can accompany the project during the entire data life cycle.
Update it when changes or deviations from the original plans are needed. This is a living document. Use version control and track changes of any change.
Share it with collaborators. Within a project, it can be used as an onboarding document an as a sort of project blueprint. When shared outside a project, it can help communities to adopt similar standards and facilitate collaboration and data reuse.
Consult a data steward for inputs when writing a DMP. A data steward or someone in a similar role can help finding DMPs from similar fields, choosing community standards, assessing project’s needs regarding data management and reviewing the DMP’s content so that it is sufficiently detailed
Selected resources for DMPs
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Examples | DMP examples from UK’s Digital Curation Center |
| Examples | DMP examples by the University of Bern |
| Generator | DMP generator by Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. It has predefined boxes that will generate a doc with predefined paragraphs. Requires Switch Edu-ID login. Oriented for life sciences |
| Form | SNSF form for DMPs (link to pdf) |
| Form | DMP Data Life-Cycle Management (DLCM) project: form based on SNSF’s template |
| Checklist | Data Life-Cycle Management (DLCM) project: DMP checklist |
| Templates | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) DMP template - link to pdf |
FAIR Checklist
The FAIR principles of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability (Wilkinson et al. 2016), are the most widely adopted framework for guiding the management of digital resources, in particular, scientific data and metadata. They define guiding principles and practices intended to enable both machines and humans to reuse research data. These core precepts have led to a myriad of guidelines and initiatives to define, evaluate and implement them in practice. We should aim for a balanced “FAIR enough” status of the data, depending on the available resources and required capabilities.
Go through the following questions to verify if your data is or can be made minimally FAIR’
Findable
It should be possible for others to discover your data. Rich metadata should be available online in a searchable resource, and the data should be assigned a persistent identifier.
Accessible
It should be possible for humans and machines to gain access to your data, under specific conditions or restrictions where appropriate. FAIR does not mean that data need to be open! There should be metadata, even if the data are not accessible.
Interoperable
Data and metadata should conform to recognized formats and standards to allow them to be combined and exchanged.
Reusable
Lots of documentation is needed to support data interpretation and reuse. The data should conform to community norms and be clearly licensed so others know what kinds of reuse are permitted.