Data Management and Sharing

If you are in the process of applying for a grant, or a preparing to apply for a grant, you already know that a number of U.S. funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health require researchers to supply detailed, cost-effective plans for managing research data, called Data Management Plans. The CSUSM Library has gathered some tools and resources to assist with this process. 

DMP Tool:

A group of several universities and organizations worked together to develop the DMPTool. This website will help researchers meet these new requirements. In specific, the DMPTool will help you to:

• Create ready-to-use data management plans for specific funding agencies
• Meet requirements for data management plans
• Get step-by-step instructions and guidance for data management plan

• Learn about resources and services available at your institution to fulfill the data management requirements of their grants

Cal State San Marcos is a partner organization in the DMPTool. To get started, go to: https://dmptool.org/ and click on the “get started” or the “log in” buttons. Select California State University, San Marcos from the pull-down menu and select “new user” (first time only). You will then be able to log in to the web site using your CSUSM user name and password. If you need help with getting started, please visit their Help Page. Setting up a Data Management Plan is only the beginning part of the process. Carly Strasser from the California Digital Library has written a very helpful blog post about Data Management, including suggestions for reviewing and revising your DMP as you work. 

Several journals are now requiring authors to share their data as a condition of being published. Some of the journals with this requirement are PLoS, BMJ, and Ecology. More journals and information can be found in Carly Strasser's blog post for Data Pub from November, 2012.