• Data Management Plans - Also referred to as DMP, in this tab learn about the requirements for data management plans for NSF, NIH and other funding agencies, templates for DMPs, and find other campus resources to help you manage your research data.
• Organization and Format - Understand the various ways you can strategically organize and arrange data and information into a digestible, user friendly format, and learn why preservation is important for your data. Also learn about metadata, what it is, and why it is important to your research. 
• Sharing and Storage - Discover why the experts believe you should share your data, the methods for sharing, publication practices, data citation, and the different ways and places you can store your data.  
• Copyright and Ethics (forthcoming) - Learn about the importance of Informed Consent, review copyright and licensing rules, and find regulations relating to data research. 

What is data management?

Data This guide is focused on digital research data.  We use a modified definition from the DISC-UK DataShare Report (p.16):

That which is collected, observed, or created, for purposes of analyzing to produce original research results.  Research data may be created in tabular, statistical, numeric, geospatial, image, multimedia or other formats.

Data management encompasses the processes surrounding collecting, organizing, describing, sharing, and preserving data.

Why is data management important?

The most effective and efficient data management practices begin at the research planning stage. With early planning for data management you can:

• Save time by having a plan in place for your data from the beginning of your project.
• Comply with legal and funder requirements.
• Increase the visibility and impact of your research by making your data searchable and citable.
• Support open access and foster new research by preserving your data and making it accessible to other researchers.

How do you manage data?

This guide provides resources for the sound management of your research data. Use the tabs to navigate through the pages of this guide.

DDI version 3.0 Combined Life Cycle Model

This page was created and is maintained by the ResearchWorks Data Services Team. If you have questions about the content, data management planning, our services or would like to request a consultation with a member of the Data Services Team, please submit a request here.

NEW!!! (5/2013)

As a resource to help with those responding to White House mandate re: data sharing (see blog post here: http://data.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-new-ostp-policy-and-data.html), the National Library of Medicine has put together a table of "NIH-supported data repositories that accept submissions of appropriate data from NIH-funded investigators (and others)".  Check it out here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/NIHbmic/nih_data_sharing_repositories.html

If you're looking for quick solutions to other common data management challenges, try these:

There are resources on campus specifically for UW researchers to help you with various stages of the data management cycle.  We've also included resources outside the UW for general guidance on data management which we've found to be the most useful.