Data Management Plan Resources
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) began requiring formal data management plans as part of the peer-reviewed funding proposal process effective January 18, 2011.
NSF Data Management Plan Requirement Overview
- Proposals submitted after January 18, 2011 must include a Data Management Plan (DMP)
- DMP should be a supplementary document of no more than two pages
- DMP must describe how the researcher will adhere to the NSF policy on sharing of results
- For full DMP policy implementation, see Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Chapter II.C.2.j
- Certain directorates and divisions have issued specific guidelines for the DMP and/or for the implementation of the data sharing policy—make sure look at your main directorate and/or division or program solicitation website to see if any additional policies apply.
How DataShop Can Help
DataShop can play an integral role in your data management process and help fulfill NSF's requirements for a complete data management plan.
NSF requires that you describe the data you intend to collect and specify policies for access, sharing, privacy, and archiving of data. DataShop can serve as a secure repository and access point for your data, guaranteeing your data is made available for secondary analysis in the future and controlling when that access is given. These concerns and others are addressed in the template data management plan below.
DataShop Data Management Plan Template
Template Data Management Plan
The DataShop team has adapted the NSF guidelines to create a template data management plan. This template plan focuses on educational and tutor message data, and specifically cites DataShop as the data repository that will archive, backup, and disseminate your data. The five headings in the document follow the headings provided by NSF for a data management plan. Feel free to use this template as a starting point, and adapt and revise it as necessary. If you have any questions or would like to consult with us in the creation of your plan, contact us.
Project Support
As a principal partner, PSLC can provide assistance with project activities, including data logging, analysis, and storage. We also can provide access to LearnLab sites (i.e., arranging studies in schools who have agreed to be partners in research), as well as support for using PSLC DataShop and tools for tutor creation (CTAT). PSLC can also provide a letter of support for proposals.
Contact us directly if you are interested in any of these services.
Other Resources
- UVa's Scientific Data Consulting (SciDaC) Group maintains a great website about data management and NSF Data Management Plans. They provide their own templates and a wealth of advice on how to articulate the components of a good data management plan.
- Our publication about using DataShop to support the educational dataset lifecycle:
Stamper, J., Koedinger, K.R., Baker, R., Skogsholm, A., Leber, B., Demi, S., Yu, S., Spencer, D. (2011) Managing the Educational Dataset Lifecycle with DataShop. In Kay, J., Bull, S. and Biswas, G. eds. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED2011) (pp. 557–559). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
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