Piloting DMP Online Tool at HKUST

Data Management Plan (DMP) is becoming a popular tool for research management. HKUST researchers can now write DMPs using the DMP SandBox, an online platform the Library is piloting.

Research Data and Planning

Research data is a valuable research output. Traditionally, we take publications as the culmination of a research. As the global research community pays more attention to open science and research integrity, effective management of research data becomes an important practice.

A DMP records how you plan to handle your data as your research progresses. Many research funders and universities require their researchers to submit DMPs in grant applications or research proposals. Although HKUST researchers do not necessarily face this requirement, writing DMPs is a useful thing to learn, especially for early-career researchers.

DMP SandBox

To get started with supporting DMP writing, the Library is piloting a tool called DMP SandBox. After you login with ITSC authentication, the web forms guide you to describe your data and plan in 6 sections:

1. Nature of Data
2. Ethics and Rights
3. Data Sharing
4. File Management and Storage
5. Deposit and Preservation
6. Resources Planning

Each section contains a few questions that prompt you to think about various data issues, measures and practices. Some questions are straight-forward but some may be difficult to answer; and there are definitely no standard answer or best answer. The value of the exercise is to get you think ahead, plan ahead; so that your research data will be better organized through your project, more intact, more trustworthy, more reusable (by you or by others), and retain higher long-term value.

This March, we are conducting two workshops on using the DMP Sandbox. Depending on responses, we may organize more sessions, and explore discipline-specific DMP support. Do try out the Sandbox. Help us revise and customize during this pilot stage. Please send comments and suggestions to the Library’s Research Support Services.

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