Tips for Writing Data Management Plans

Like many other funding institutions, the SNSF also asks for a data management plan (DMP).

Further information on the content of DMPs can be found here.

If you have any questions, you can of course contact us by phone or e-mail at any time.

I. Collection of Information

Inform yourself on the requirements of the research funding agency to which you will submit your DMP at an early stage. The SNSF offers the following assistance:

General information on the DMP

Chapter structure of the DMP

Other research funding bodies may have different requirements.

If you would like an appointment for an initial consultation before writing your DMP, please contact us at data(at)hbz.uzh.ch.

II. Creating a DMP

Use the chapter structure provided by your research funding agency to create your draft. For the SNSF, the DMP consists of 4 chapters with sub-chapters, which must be entered in the mySNF form.

If you would like to create your draft in Word, you can use the following pre-structured file in English (DOCX, 13 KB) or the pre-structured file in German (DOCX, 13 KB) in which we have replicated the chapters of the SNSF DMP. The language of the DMP should be the same as that of your application.

If you are working with a DMP template, make sure that it meets the requirements of your funding agency. One danger of using templates is the inadvertent adoption of statements that do not apply to your own project.

Practical Tips for the DMP Chapters

Tips for writing Chapter 1
In the first chapter, we recommend creating a table with the different

data types

data formats

data volumes

and numbering them. Example table (PDF, 461 KB) In the following chapters of the DMP, the respective data type can be referenced.

Note: No tables can be created in mySNF, but tables generated in Word (maximum width 15cm) can be copied into the input mask of mySNF and edited there.

Tips for writing Chapter 2

In order to check whether data are ethically harmless, the Ethics Commission of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers a checklist for the self-evaluation of studies on ethical harmlessness as well as individual counselling.

The Department of Data Protection advises on legal issues relating to data protection.

Tips for writing Chapter 3

Consult your institute's IT service about how and at what intervals backups are performed.
Not all formats are suitable for long-term storage. We recommend using non-proprietary and open formats whenever possible. Further information on suitable file formats

Tips for writing Chapter 4

Whenever possible, it is advisable to choose a discipline-specific repository for reasons of better findability. A possible starting point for searching for repositories is re3data.
The SNSF has compiled a list of FAIR-compliant repositories. There you will mainly find a selection of general repositories, i.e. repositories that are general purpose or not disciplines specific.

III. Finalizing the DMP

You may not be able to answer some points of the DMP spontaneously. The Data Services team will be happy to help. Depending on your question, you can also contact the following experts, with whom we can also put you in touch if you wish.

Legal and data protection

S3IT

Center for Reproducible Science

Clinical Trials Center

You are welcome to send your DMP to the Data Services team for review before submitting it to your research funding agency.