You might be familiar with the acronym DMP (Data Management Plan). DMPs have been mandatory portions of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) grant proposal process for years. They have since become standard inclusions in other funding requests as a sign that the researcher considered managing their data ethically and responsibly. Starting January 25, 2023, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will require a DMSP with all funding requests. Currently, only grants for $500,000 or more are required to submit a data management plan.
So why the added “S”? A DMSP is a Data Management and Sharing Plan. How is this different? A DMP only suggests you will manage your data. The goal of a DMSP is to share the data from your research. Perhaps not every byte of your raw data needs to be shared, but you need to plan to be transparent in your research process. Other researchers will be able to access your data when you have completed and published your findings allowing them to validate or replicate your results. They might even use your data to fuel their own research. So try not to make it hard for them to interpret your data and plan and treat your data like your other publications.
There are new ways to share your data and increase your impact measurements. The DMP Tool now can link your DMP to a PID (Persistent Identifier) allowing your DMP to be shared and cited. Research data repositories, such as ASU Dataverse, can also generate PIDs so your data can be cited and shared as it is discovered and used. Open research will continue to fuel discovery and allow all researchers to build on past research. Be prepared to share your data and consult the resources at ASU Knowledge Enterprise and early in your research development process.
