What is a Data Management Plan?

A data management plan (DMP) will help you in the management of research data generated in your project. Put simply, a data management plan describes the data that is collected or generated in the course of your work and what happens to this data during its life-cycle (storage, publication, citation, long-term availability, anonymity, deletion, etc.). The goal of a data management plan is to meet the requirements of good scientific practice and to allow for reproducibility of research results.

It is recommended to start early with the preparations for the handling of research data and to update the procedures during the project. The following specifications guide you in this process.

In the ETH Zurich Guidelines on scientific integrity (RSETHZ 414), some data management guidelines are specified in articles 10 and 11 and summarised in brief just below:

• "The persons collaborating on a research project are responsible for the accuracy of the research data and for the compliance with relevant regulations.
• Relevant research data and materials that underlie a publication should be shared in line with the FAIR Data Principles.
• Such relevant research data which underpins a publication are securely stored in repositories and data archives.
• All persons collaborating in the project should determine as early as possible how research data derived from this project is shared and can be used outside of the project team" (ETH Zurich Guidelines on scientific integrity, RSETHZ 414, Articles 10 and 11).
  

The Guidelines for Research Data Management at ETH Zurich (RSETHZ 414.2) regulate further details of research data management and expect a DMP for research project with clear temporal boundaries.

Funding organisations often state additional requirements. Article 47 of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) funding regulations requires that research data is made available to other researchers for secondary research and is integrated in recognised scientific data pools. Researchers who apply for funding by the SNSF are obliged to submit a DMP for projects that have been approved. Submission of a DMP is a condition to request the release of funds.

The Research Data Management and Digital Curation Office is offering guidance on how to develop data management plans in their trainings on research data management.

The following checklists and guides help you to write a data management plan and to observe requirements of the respective funding agency:

• Data Management Checklist from DLCM project by the libraries of EPFL and ETH Zurich
• Examples and checklists of the Digital Curation Centre (UK), and
• General DMP template and corresponding instructions by the ETH Library, taking into account the conditions at ETH Zurich
• Guidance on filling out the SNSF Data Management Plan prepared by the libraries of EPFL and ETH Zurich as part of the DLCM project
• SPHN Data Management Plan (DMP) Guidelines suitable for all researchers who work with health-related data, harmonised with the DMP template of the SNSF
• DMP template for project applications to Horizon Europe with some explanations
• DMP template for ERC project applications

Data management plans vary greatly depending on the research project or discipline. The Research Data Management and Digital Curation Office can assist you in your work on a data management plan.