Properly managing research data before, during and after the research process is crucial to achieving transparency of experimental details and reproducibility. It can also help to facilitate data sharing. This guide is designed to provide the support needed to ensure that your research is valid, well-organized, and that you are able to comply with funder mandates from NIH and NSF. The video below illustrates some of the consequences of poor data management.
Funder mandates in research data management refer to requirements by a funding agency for the grant recipient to submit a data sharing plan, which specific describes how data resulting from the study will be shared publicly. Two major funders of biomedical research, NIH and NSF, both have data sharing requirements.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
As of October 1, 2003, all proposals requesting funding of $500,000 or more must submit a data sharing plan, or a provide a valid reason why data cannot be shared (i.e., due to concerns regarding the privacy of the research subjects, etc.). For more information on NIH's data sharing policy, please visit this website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/
National Science Foundation (NSF)
As of January 18, 2011, NSF requires that all recipients of grant funds submit a mandatory, two-page data sharing plan. For further details, please refer to this site: https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmp.jsp