CONFERENCEA research data management plan (hereinafter – DMP) is a strategic document that ensures a systematic approach to data acquisition, processing, storage, and sharing throughout the entire research project lifecycle. It is an essential tool for guaranteeing data compliance with FAIR principles and increasing the reliability of research results.
A quality DMP not only facilitates the research process but is also a mandatory document for many research project funders. It serves as a guide for effective data management, helping researchers thoughtfully plan their work with data from the very beginning of the project.
A DMP is an important document that helps researchers thoughtfully organize their work with research data from the project's inception – from data acquisition and processing to storage and sharing after the research project's completion. The DMP describes the data lifecycle for any data that will be collected, processed, and/or generated in the research project. To ensure data compliance with FAIR principles, the DMP must include information about:
- research data processing during and after the project
- what data will be collected, processed, and/or generated
- what methodology and standards will be applied
- whether data will be shared/made open
- how data will be managed and preserved (including after the project ends)
To begin work on a DMP, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the main aspects to be described in the plan, as well as ensure that it complies with the research project funder's requirements. The sections included in a DMP may differ, but most DMPs contain the following information:
| What data will be generated and/or used during the study? | Describe the data source, type, format, and expected volume. |
| Are ethics and intellectual property issues resolved? | Specify how ethical principles will be observed. |
| How will data be organized, securely stored, and protected during the project? | Describe data storage locations, data organization principles, and security measures for data protection. |
| How will research datasets be documented? | Specify what metadata will be described, what documentation will be created, for example, ReadMe files or codebooks that include variable definitions and descriptions. |
| How will data be processed? | Specify what software is needed to work with this data. |
| How will data be stored long-term and under what conditions will it be shared with others? | Describe the choice of research data repository or platform, dataset storage duration, solutions for data access (open access, restricted access, closed data). Include data usage conditions by assigning a license. |
| Who is responsible for various data management tasks? | Describe roles for working with data – data managers, data users, etc. |
| What budget and resource considerations must be considered when implementing the project? | Specify expenses related to data management – data storage, backup solutions, software, and personnel costs. Specify how these costs will be covered. |
You can find out the funder's requirements for DMP in the research project regulations and contract appendices, the funder's website (Latvian Council of Science, EU Horizon, Nordic Council, etc.), or by contacting the Research Projects Division of the Science Department.
Important: Observe the DMP preparation deadline specified in the research project regulations!
The online tool Argos has been developed to help researchers easily create structured DMPs that comply with funder requirements. Considering the research project regulation requirements, it is possible to choose an appropriate DMP template on the Argos platform.
If there are no specific requirements for DMP template selection in the project regulations, it is recommended to use the "Latvian Council of Science blueprint" template developed by the Latvian Council of Science for describing the main parts of the DMP and the "LCS FARP" template for describing datasets.
Work steps:
- Visit https://argos.openaire.eu and authorize using Orcid ID or email
- Choose the appropriate DMP template and fill it out
- Save the DMP
- Send the link to the prepared DMP to UL data curators at datu.kuratori@lu.lv for review and approval
- After approval, publish the DMP in the Zenodo repository.
To facilitate DMP completion on the Argos platform, the Latvian Data Curators Network has created a tutorial (in Latvian) where the fields to be filled in the Latvian Council of Science data management plan template are explained step by step.
The DMP is a "living" document, which means it can be supplemented and updated if initial assessments change during the research process or if important additional information is obtained. DMP supplementation or updating can be done on the Argos platform, which will save the changed version of the DMP with the previously assigned DOI in the Zenodo repository, thus ensuring its compliance with FAIR principles, making the DMP findable and accessible long-term while maintaining version control.