Optometry Residents: Research Data Management

A data management plan is a formal document that outlines:

• research workflow and information about the data that will be generated, collected, or reused
• research output format, metadata, access and sharing policies, long-term storage, and budget

Creating a data management plan will save you time by creating a clear structure for organizing your data throughout the research life cycle, and ensures that you and others will be able to use and understand your data in the future.

Details on the NIH requirements are found on their Data Management and Sharing Policy website, which includes:

• About Data Management & Sharing Policies;
• Planning & Budgeting for Data Management and Sharing (includes sample DMS plans)
• Data Management;
• Sharing Scientific Data;
• Protecting Participant Privacy When Sharing Scientific Data.

See also the Data Management and Sharing Plan Checklist for Researchers, from the Working Group on NIH DMSP Guidance.

Use the DMPTool to create your data management plan. The DMPTool provides a click-through wizard for creating a DMP that complies with funder requirements, and includes DMP templates. Free to use for UCB researchers.

UC Berkeley Library has prepared Guidance for Data Management and Sharing Costs on NIH Budget Requests (docx).

Set up and document workflows to ensure that data and other research outputs are secure. This includes properly backing up, protecting, and archiving data.

Start by following the 3-2-1 rule:

• store three copies of data at two different locations with one copy in the cloud (or offsite)
• Some research data may also fall under restricted or confidential categories, and it is critical that proper policy compliance is both taken and recorded.

Resource for getting started: check out the active research data guidance grid to learn more about data types and storage options at UC Berkeley. 

UC Berkeley's Research Data Management Program is available to consult before, during and after on your research on writing data management plans, encryption and security, metadata enrichment, data publishing and sharing, analysis and workflows, and more. Consultants provide individual and group consultations and training for researchers in all disciplines.

Get in touch with us on our website or via email at researchdata@berkeley.edu

Upon completion of a project, select an archival data repository to publish your research data outputs. Repositories ensure that your data will be stored and can be accessed for future use, either by you or other researchers. Publishers and funding institutions have guidelines to address data access and archiving through using trusted data repositories that ensure long term archiving and discoverability.

By properly archiving data and other outputs, research is more likely to be cited, reused, and discovered in search engines.