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Data Management Plans (DMPs): Research Data Life Cycle

DMPs are short documents that describe the data that you generate during your research, how that data will be preserved, and shared in the short-term while you are working on your project and in the long-term after the project is over.

Research Data Life Cycle

Data management includes managing your data while you are working on your project (planning research, collecting data, processing and analyzing data) as well as making decisions for long-term management (publishing and sharing data, preserving data, reusing data).

Planning Research

  • Design a research plan
  • Plan data management
  • Plan consent for sharing
  • Planing data collecting, processing protocols and templates
  • Explore existing data sources

Collecting Data

  • Collect and generate data
  • Capture and record data with metadata
  • Organize data
  • Describe data
  • Acquire existing third party data
  • Maintaining data

Processing and Analyzing Data

  • Enter, digitize, transcribe, and translate data
  • Check, validate, clean, and anonmyze data
  • Derive data
  • Describe and document data
  • Manage and store data
  • Analyze and interpret data
  • Produce research outputs
  • Cite data sources

Publishing and Sharing Data

  • Establish copyright
  • Create use documentation
  • Create discovery metadata
  • Select appropriate access to data
  • Publish/share data
  • Promote data

Preserving Data

  • Migrate data to best format/media
  • Store and back up data
  • Create preservation documentation
  • Preserve and curate data

Reusing Data

  • Conduct secondary analysis
  • Undertake follow-up research
  • Scrutinize findings
  • Use data for teaching and learning
     

(Content from the UK Research Data Lifecycle.)

Willamette University

Willamette University Libraries

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