The Template and Mapping Processes in DMP Online v3.0

Explained and demonstrated

“Why not answer the questions directly?”

- Along with “Where can I find (i.e. pinch) examples of successful DMPs?” this is the question that I hear the most

- The worry is usually that “Researchers will not want to answer the DCC questions”

- This short presentation explains the rationale behind the mapping approach, and demonstrates its benefits

Many actors, many templates, one DMP- DMP Online v1.0 was designed simply to meet funder

requirements. The need for the mapping process was less obvious in those days

- In the two years since the tool was first released, other actors (publishers, institutions, etc) have increasingly introduced data-related requirements and policies, and the tool has evolved to meet these new challenges

- Consequently, DMP Online v3.0 facilitates the creation of multiple (or ‘hybrid’) templates, allowing users to create a single DMP that satisfies multiple needs…

Discipline(s)Funder(s) Institution(s) Publisher(s)+ + + + …

- Each template can also have multiple ‘phases’, e.g. (i) application stage, (ii) in-project, (iii) post-project, etc

Without mappingLet’s take a common issue, say data archiving / long-term preservation…

- It is likely that this issue will be covered in one way or another by your funder’s policy, your institutional policy and your publisher’s policy. Furthermore, these three stakeholders may have different (and perhaps even conflicting) requirements

- If we do not map these three policies to a single, underlying, generic Checklist, the data management plan needs to address the same issue three times, in separate places

- This introduces some serious problems:• Redundancy of effort (i.e. answering the same question thrice)• Dispersedness of answers (i.e. coverage of a single issue is addressed in multiple

locations within the plan)• Risk of internal contradiction within the plan (i.e. changing one answer but not

another)• Finally, the various guidance is not collocated, making it harder to plot a

satisfactory course

With mappingWhen we map to a single Checklist:

1. We can create a single ‘master’ DMP for a project and we can export subsets for particular purposes (e.g. submission to funders, publishers…)

2. We compare like with like, enabling DMPs for multi-partner, multi-funder, multi-disciplinary research

3. We draw together common issues in a single location (together with the relevant guidance from each agency), enabling them to be reconciled should conflict arise

4. We enable asynchronous ‘phases’ of DMPs, e.g. minimal at point of application, expanded during the project, and addressing long-term preservation issues towards the end of the research (and post-project)

5. And finally – and this is the original purpose of mapping – we may be able to learn something about disciplinary differences in specific areas of data management

Mapping DemonstrationFunder

Questions- 1- 2- 3- 5

Guidance- Custom- Default- None- Custom

InstitutionQuestions- 1- 2- 5

Guidance- Default- Custom- Default

DisciplineQuestions- 2- 4- 6

Guidance- Custom- Custom- Custom

DCC ChecklistQuestions- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7

Guidance- Default- Default- None- Default- None- None- Default

A simplified seven question Checklist, with three templates applied…

First, user selects the Funder template, sees:

Then the user adds the Institution template, sees

the same questions but more guidance:

Finally, the user adds the Discipline template, sees more questions and yet more guidance:

Questions- 1- 2- 3- 5

Guidance- Custom- Default- None- Custom

Fund

er

Questions- 1- 2- 3- 5

Guidance- Custom + Default - Default + Custom- None- Custom + Default

Fund

er +

In

stitu

tion

Questions- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6

Guidance- Custom + Default - Default + Custom + Custom- None- Custom + Custom- Default- Custom

Fund

er +

Insti

tutio

n +

Dis

cipl

ine

Note how none of the templates include Q7, and

how none of the four parties feel that Q3 requires accompanying guidance: a

fourth template may change this…

Questions- 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6

Guidance- Custom + Default - Default + Custom + Custom- None- Custom + Custom- Default- Custom

Fund

er +

Insti

tutio

n +

Dis

cipl

ine

One DMP for multiple uses

Conclusion- The user thus creates a single DMP which

addresses all the issues that concern the three agencies (Funder, Institution and Discipline)

- If an approach changes (and we stress that a DMP is a living document, so this should be expected), the change only has to be made in one place, with reference possible to all the relevant guidance, presented in a single location

Report 1

- Finally, DMP Online’s granular export option enables the user to pull out only the relevant sections, as needed…

Report 2

Report 3

Thanks

Martin DonnellyDCC @ University of Edinburgh

December 2011

martin.donnelly@ed.ac.uk Twitter: @mkdDCC