InfoGuides: Research Data Management Basics: Write Data Management Plans

Need help writing a data management plan to submit with a grant proposal?

The Digital Scholarship Center (DiSC) helps George Mason faculty, staff, and students manage and publish data they produce. We can answer questions about and guide you through the process of writing your data management plan.

The DMPTool helps you to create ready-to-use data management plans to meet funder and institutional requirements.
- When you connect to the DMPTool, you can login using your Mason username and password.

Remember to check the funder and grant solicitation for any additional requirements.
Use the DMPTool Quick Start Guide to get started.

Additional Information

Data Sharing Requirements by Federal Agency (SPARC)
Funding agency Data Management Plan Requirements. This list links to detailed guidelines from each funder and includes US Federal Agency requirements as well as other funding organizations.
Data management handbooks, guides, and information on managing lab notebooks.
Information about archiving your final research results (data, publications, etc.) through the Mason Archival Repository Service.

Questions? Contact us for help.

Upcoming NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan Changes (effective January 25, 2023)

Learn what NIH expects Data Management & Sharing Plans to address.
This guide from NIH compares what's expected from NIH Data Sharing Plans now and what will be expected for grant applications received on or after January 25, 2023.

Under the 2023 Data Management and Sharing (DMS) policy, NIH expects researchers to maximize the appropriate sharing of scientific data, taking into account factors such as legal, ethical, or technical issues that may limit the extent of data sharing and preservation.
NIH requires all applicants planning to generate scientific data to prepare a DMS plan that describes how the scientific data will be managed and shared.
NIH Scientific Data Sharing Website
NIH 2023 Data Management and Sharing Policy FAQs

Review the DMPTool's NIH Data Management & Sharing Templates.
In advance of the upcoming changes, maintainers at the DMPTool prepared templates for NIH Data Management & Sharing Plans.

NIH Data Sharing and Reuse Seminar Series
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Data Science Strategy hosts a seminar series to highlight exemplars of data sharing and reuse on the second Friday of each month at noon ET.

Examples of Data Management Plans

DMPTool Public DMPs includes sample and shared DMPs for NSF, IMLS, Department of Education, and more.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) examples of data sharing plans. (Note: NIH requirements will change on January 25, 2023.)
UC San Diego examples of National Science Foundation (NSF) data management plans
Contact datahelp@gmu.edu with questions about your DMP and for additional examples.

Data management planning is an important part of a research project. The plans required by funders are the first step in addressing how you will manage your research data. Once you get funding for your project, the second phase is building from your initial data management plan and devising a more detailed plan. Of course, writing a data management plan need not be tied to a grant proposal.

Video is 13:48 minutes in length. The first section is introductory and background material. Starting at the 7:00 minute mark, what to include in a DMP is addressed. Go to ICPSR's Guidelines for effective data management plans web page which accompanies this presentation for more background or download as a PDF.