What is Data Management?

In the course of a project, research data pass through various stages. With proper research data management, you process your data securely and efficiently at each stage and make it usable beyond your publication.

Data management planning

A Data Management Plan (DMP) is created at the beginning of a project and describes how data is created, processed, secured and finally archived and shared in a project. Basically, anyone and everyone can set up an individual DMP.

What goes into a data management plan?

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provides guiding questions to complete a DMP. To write a DMP, you can also consider the data life cycle and note down important aspects for each step.

What are the requirements of the SNSF?

The SNSF requires grantees to submit a DMP after their project has been approved.

Tutorial: How to write a DMP?

What Are the Benefits of a Data Management Plan?

A DMP helps you:

to structure, describe and store your research data in a meaningful way and to make the data usable for others
to manage your data and often the entire research project more efficiently
to keep track of your own data output,
to guarantee the continuity of data management if project staff leave or new researchers join
to handle personal data, as well as copyright issues, safely