Guide to Project Data Management

What is data management plan (DMP)
and why make one?

This section covers the basics of data management and the tools needed for the purpose in Laurea.

The Data Management Plan (DMP) is a document that describes how RDI data will be collected and managed during the project and after the active phase of the project.

A Data Management Plan (DMP) is developed whenever an RDI project collects data for analysis or research purposes. If required by the funder, the plan will be drawn up at the application stage. If the plan is not required at the application stage, it will be done after the project has received a funding decision or when it is known that the project will collect data.

The data management plan serves as a working document and a guideline for the project at different stages: it describes the data to be generated, takes into account research ethics and data protection, defines roles, responsibilities and platforms, facilitates the work. The plan makes it easy for project partners to check what was agreed at different stages of the project. The plan helps to anticipate risks and prepare, for example, for further use and opening of data.

How to make a DMP?

At Laurea, the data management plan is made using the DMPTuuli tool. DMPTuuli is an open-source data management planning tool used by Finnish higher education institutions. The tool can be used in conjunction with project partners when preparing a data management plan.

If you do not want to use DMPTuuli, you can use a basic DMP Template instead.

When starting to write a DMP check the detailed instructions for making a DMP.

The DMP is stored in the project folder in Repo (path: select project - content - documents - resource management). The Resource Management Plan will be completed and modified as necessary during the course of the project.

DMPTuuli is a tool for data management planning

DMPTuuli is easy to set up and after creating an account, you can use it with your Laurea basic service account.

Do the following:

1.  Create a search ID for yourself. It is important that you choose Laurea University of Applied Sciences as your organisation, because then you will get Laurea's own templates and instructions.
2. Once you have created your account, you can log in to the service using your HAKA login.
3.  Select "Create a new plan". Enter the name of the project, select Laurea University of Applied Sciences as the organisation and enter the donor information.

The DMPTuul contains model templates from funders (including Business Finland, Horizon, the Academy of Finland, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, THL and the Finnish Government) and guidelines on how to draw up a data management plan. You can share your own plan with a colleague or ask for comments on Laurea's data services in Tuul.

The following video explains how to implement DMPTuuli and how to create a data management plan.

Content of the Data Management Plan

There are a total of six main points in the Records Management Plan that need to be addressed in a separate plan. In the DMPTuul templates, the main points are always the same.

1.     Overview of the data
   1.     Overview of the data: data to be collected or existing data and their characteristics
   2.     Ensuring the quality of the data
2.     Ethical principles, legislation and processing of personal data
3.     Documentation of the data and metadata
4.     Storage, security and backup during the project
5.     Opening, publication and archiving of the material after the end of the project
6.     Responsibilities and resources for data management