Data management checklist

A checklist, such as the one below, can help with writing a thorough data management plan. It assists in identifying what good data practices to implement and which actions to take to optimise data sharing.

Resources and planning

• Who will be responsible for which part of data management?
• Will new skills be required for any activities?
• Will you need extra resources to manage data, such as people, time, or hardware?
• Will there be any costs associated with depositing data for long-term preservation and access?

Documenting

• Will others be able to understand your data and use them properly?
• Will the structured data be self-explanatory in terms of variable names, codes and abbreviations used?
• Which descriptions and contextual documentation will explain how the data were collected, the methods used to create them, and what the data mean?
• How will you label and organise data, and all the files?
• How will you maintain consistency in data cataloguing?

Formatting

• Will you be using standardised and consistent procedures to collect, process, transcribe, check, validate and verify data, such as standard protocols, templates or input forms?
• Which data formats will you use? Do the formats and software you use enable sharing and the long-term sustainability of data, such as non-proprietary software and software based on open standards or specialised software widely used in the community?
• When converting data across formats, will you check that no data, annotation or internal metadata has been lost or changed?

Storing

• Will your digital and non-digital data, and any copies, be held in multiple safe and secure locations?
• Will you work with personal or sensitive data? If so, will they be properly protected?
• If data will be collected with mobile devices, how will you transfer and store the data?
• If data will be held in multiple places, how will you keep track of versions? How will you know which version is the master version?
• Will your files be backed up sufficiently and regularly, and will backups be stored safely?
• Who will have access to which data during and after research? Will there be a need for access restrictions? How will these restrictions be managed after you are no longer around?
• How long will you store your data for and have you planned which data to keep and which to destroy and when?

Confidentiality, ethics and consent

• Will your Consent Form, Participant Information Sheet and any other protocols clearly describe how data will be collected, used, shared and reused?
• Will you discuss data sharing plans with the respondents from whom you collect the data?
• Will you have plans in place to handle participant withdrawal requests, including data deletion or withdrawal?
• Will the data contain confidential or sensitive information? If so, how will you handle storing and sharing this data responsibly?
• Will you consider cultural sensitivities or specific ethical considerations related to the communities or groups involved in your research?
• If you will be collecting and processing personal data, have you considered conducting a Data Privacy Impact Assessment?
• If you use third-party services or cloud storage, have you evaluated their compliance with data protection regulations?
• Will you be anonymising the data for future reuse to enable wider sharing? Will you share more detailed versions of the data under more stringent access conditions?

Copyright

• For both primary and secondary data, will you plan to clearly establish who owns the copyright in the data? Might there be joint copyright ownership?
• If you will be purchasing or reusing someone else’s data sources, will you consider how that data might be shareable, if at all? For example, will you consider negotiating a new licence with the original supplier?

Sharing

• Will you make all of your data available for sharing, or will you have to decide which data to preserve and share?
• How and where will you preserve your research data for the long term?
• Will you select and apply an appropriate licence that will clarify how your data can be reused?
• Will you need a dissemination embargo, and if so, how long will it be?
• How will you ensure your shared data meets the FAIR data principles?