Research Data Management

A guide to help researchers manage, store, and share their research data. We also offer one-on-one or group sessions if you have additional questions.

What is a Data Management Plan? 

Great question.

Data Management Plans (DMPs) are an important part of the research data lifecycle. DMPs provide a summary of what a researcher will do with their data during and after a given project. Although all researchers benefit from creating DMPs, DMPs are increasingly required for grant proposal submissions. DMPs often include: 

  • Types of data being collected, including file formats
  • Data descriptions, including scope and metadata schemas 
  • Plans for data storage and access
  • Data sharing policies, including confidentiality and privacy restrictions
  • Data archiving systems and responsibilities
  • Short- and long-term data management costs

Need Help Creating a DMP?

You've got options.

1. In-Person and Virtual Consultations at the Marriott Library

The University of Utah Marriott Library provides free, expert guidance to members of our research community on preparing DMPs tailored to your specific discipline and project. Let us help you write a competitive DMP to make your grant proposal stand out and help you engage with best practices in data management for your upcoming project. 

For in-person or virtual DMP assistance, contact your data management librarian at least two weeks before your grant proposal deadline (don't worry, we're available to help you in shorter time frames as well). We will meet with you to discuss your project and gather relevant information about your data management plans. After our meeting, we will be able to review and provide comments on draft DMPs. For DMP assistance, contact: 

Humanities & Social Sciences
Sciences
Kaylee Alexander
kaylee.alexander@utah.edu
801-213-7213		 Madison Golden
madison.golden@utah.edu
801-213-1825
2. The California Digital Library's DMPTool

The University of Utah has joined dozens of institutions nationwide in providing researchers access to the DMPTool, a free, open-source, online application administered by the California Digital Library.  The DMPTool provides a click-through wizard for creating a DMP that complies with funder requirements. It also has direct links to funder websites, help text for answering questions, and data management best practices resources. To get started, go to dmptool.org and log in on using your UNID. Select the funding agency whose guidelines you want to follow and fill in the prompts to build your DMP. The document will be saved under your UNID and when you've completed you DMP, the document will be ready to download and include with your grant application. 

DMP Resources @ The U

Training and Consultations

Your Research Data Librarians at the J. Willard Marriott Library are pleased to offer various training sessions and consultation appointments to assist you with all of your research data management needs. If you would like to request a consultation or schedule data management training for your class or department, contact Kaylee Alexander (kaylee.alexander@utah.edu) or Madison Golden (madison.golden@utah.edu).

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