Research Data Management Overview  

Effective data management is the key to producing FAIR data in support of data sharing policies. Formally, data management refers to: "...the development, execution and supervision of plans, policies, programs and practices that control, protect, deliver and enhance the value of data and information assets" (Wikipedia). That may seem a bit daunting, but what making a data management plan really means is considering in advance how you will handle the valuable data you generate from your experiments. A good data management plan will include the following:

• Where you will store your data?
• How will you organize multiple data files?
• What formats will you use for your data?
• What metadata will others need to understand, reuse and search for your data?
• Are there community standards that should be adhered to?
• How will your data be preserved for the life of the experiment and afterward?
• How do you facilitate data sharing?

Even if you never release the data to the public, properly managing your data ensures that they are FAIR – findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable – for you and your lab members. Careful data management ensures that you retain access to valuable digital assets even when graduate students and postdocs leave the laboratory. In addition, you are now able to publish your data as a separate journal article - usually providing detailed descriptions of your data which focus on helping others reuse data instead of testing hypotheses.

With the release of the new NIH data sharing policy (See NIH Data sharing website for more information), starting January 25, 2023, you will be required to manage and share all data generated from NIH funding. Many journals already require that data be shared at the time of publication or that access to data be specified in the article.

dkNET can help you with data management and FAIR data. We provide:

• Information and training for researchers through our webinar series

  Webinar recordings

  • Creating and Sustaining a FAIR Biomedical Data Ecosystem, presented by Dr. Susan Gregurick
  • FAIR Data Require Better Metadata: The Case for CEDAR, presented by Dr. Mark Musen
  • FAIR Data & Software in the Research Life Cycle, presented by Christopher Erdmann
  • FAIR Data Principles, dkNET and You, presented by Dr. Maryann Martone
• The dkNET Summer of Data Student Program for students

  Course Recordings

  • An Introduction to Open Science and the FAIR Data Principles. Instructor: Dr. Maryann Martone (2021; 2020)
  • Manage Data in the Laboratory; Data Management Plan. Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey Grethe (2021; 2020)
• A curated list of data repositories for publishing your data

  Short tutorial video

  • dkNET FAIR Data Resources -How to prepare a Data Management Sharing Plan and find data repositories?
• Resources to help create effective data management plans
• A “FAIR data wizard” to help managing and publishing your data (coming 2023)

Data management plans

A growing number of funders, including both the NIH and the NSF, require that data management plans be included in grant proposals. Fortunately, many research libraries are building data management capacity. These libraries often have personnel and resources , – such as data management planning tools and institutional repositories – to help you comply with funder mandates and manage data effectively. Some examples include:

• California Digital Library Data Management Planning Tool: An online tool for creating data management plans.
• Loyola-Marymount University Research Data Management: A nice set of questions about what should go into a data management plan.
• MIT Libraries Data Management Resources: General information on data management and on the tools and services available from MIT Libraries.
• Mantra: Online training course for data management hosted by the University of Edinburgh

Check with your institutional library to find out what resources are available to you. The Directory of Open Access Repositories also has a searchable database of institutional repositories. Some commercial providers, such as Mendeley and Digital Science, also provide services for data management.

NIDDK Data Management & Sharing Website – https://www.niddk.nih.gov/research-funding/research-resources/data-management-sharing

• NIDDK Guidance for Writing a DMS Plan
• NIDDK DMS Tools and Examples
• For additional information or have questions, please contact your program officer

NIH Data Sharing Website – https://sharing.nih.gov

• NIH Data Management & Sharing Policy Overview
• How to prepare the plan? NIH Writing a Data Management & Sharing Plan and Samples
• NIH DMS Sample Plans
• What are Data Sharing Related Costs? NIH Budgeting for Data Management & Sharing

Policy and Supplemental Information

• NOT-OD-21-013 – Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing
• NOT-OD-21-014 – Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Elements of an NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan
• NOT-OD-21-015 – Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Allowable Costs for Data Management and Sharing
• NOT-OD-21-016 – Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Selecting a Repository for Data Resulting from NIH-Supported Research
• NOT-OD-22-064 - Request for Public Comments on DRAFT Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Responsible Management and Sharing of American Indian/ Alaska Native Participant Data
• NOT-OD-22-131 - Request for Public Comments on DRAFT Supplemental Information to the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing: Protecting Privacy When Sharing Human Research Participant Data
• NOT-OD-22-189 - Implementation Details for the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy
• NOT-OD-24-176 - Updated Processes for Requesting Revisions to an Approved Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan
• Check current NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy

Resources

• NIH Data Sharing Website – https://sharing.nih.gov
• NIH Office of Science Policy DMS Policy Website – history and background on the NIH DMS Policy
• Webinar

  Update on Implementation of New NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy: Recording

  Presentation on implementation of the NIH DMS Policy: Recording

  A Conversation with NIH: Implementing the New Data Management and Sharing Policy.

  • Part 1: Understanding the New NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy: Slides, Recording
  • Part 2: Diving Deeper into the New NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy: Slides, Recording
• News & Events – Latest news and upcoming events

Other Resources

Still have questions? Contact us at info@dknet.org or request a data repository recommendation.