DMP Requirement Under the Lab’s Research Data Policy
As of July 1, 2023, all research projects or programs at Berkeley Lab that are sponsored by the DOE, external funders, or through the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program require a data management plan (DMP) that covers the research performed. Many research funders also require DMP. Where a research funder does not require the submission of a DMP, it is the responsibility of a PI or program lead to draft and store the DMP either in their records or upload it to a suitable repository. Research funders and sponsors may have additional requirements on DMPs, and researchers should review any additional applicable agreement terms for specific projects.
See the Lab’s Research Data Policy FAQs for more more information.
DMPs must address the following requirements below, with all applicable topics included in the DMP. Under each requirement are best practices and/or tools/resources to help you.
Where to Start
Creating a Data Management Plan
The University of California provides DMPTool as an online tool to create DMPs. DMPTool offers templates for various research funders, including the Department of Energy. The tool also serves as a repository for Data Management Plans, and allows researchers to share their DMP with a unique, persistent identifier specific to each Data Management Plan. That identifier helps with tracking compliance with Berkeley Lab’s Research Data Policy. For feedback or questions related to the DMPTool, please visit, https://dmptool.org/contact-us.
Example Data Management Plans
You can view publicly shared DMPs that were created using the DMPTool service.
Please Note: They are not vetted for quality, completeness, or adherence to funder guidelines.
- DMP Search – Sort by funder, institution, language, and subject.
- UC Berkeley
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Data Collection
Berkeley Lab Policy
DMPs should describe data collection and organization, including information about what type of data will be produced, what size or volume of data is expected, what tools or instruments will be used, and what types of analyses are planned.
Data Storage Questions?
For questions about data storage please contact Science-IT at science-it@lbl.gov.
Data Management
Berkeley Lab Policy
DMPs should consult and reference available information about data management resources to be used in the course of the proposed research. In particular, DMPs that explicitly or implicitly commit data management resources at a facility beyond what is conventionally made available to approved users should be accompanied by written approval from that facility. In determining the resources available for data management at Office of Science User Facilities, researchers should consult the published description of data management resources and practices at that facility and reference it in the DMP. Information about other Office of Science facilities can be found in the additional guidance from the sponsoring program. Roles and responsibilities in data preservation and curation should be clearly defined.
DOE Compliance
DOE Compliance: Under the DOE’s Public Access policy all research results (“product”) funded by taxpayer money needs to be openly available.
Berkeley Lab Publications Management
- Berkeley Lab Publications & Profiles – Answers questions about complying with the DOES’s Open Access policy, or help with journal copyright forms.
- Publications Management FAQs – Answers questions such as what types of work you should submit and how to get an OSTI ID for your publication or technical report.
- Publications Resources & Guides – Includes a step by step guide for researchers and delegates.
- UC Publication Management – Upload copies of your work here. Submitted publications are auto sent to eScholarship, the Lab/UC institutional repository, which then auto uploads complete records to OSTI.
- Note: unless a publication is explicitly Open Access, or posted to a preprint server like arXiv, the published PDF is under copyright and can’t be freely shared. OSTI recommends using the accepted manuscript — the version that was peer-reviewed, revised, and accepted for publication by the journal.
NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy
- NIH DM and Sharing Policy Guide for Berkeley Lab – Quick guide on what is new, what you need to do, and where you can get help.
- NIH Blog, “12 Days of Data Management and Sharing Tips & Resources”
Data Preservation
Berkeley Lab Policy
DMPs should describe whether and how data generated in the course of the proposed research will be shared and preserved, and what methods or software tools will be needed to access and use the data. If the plan is not to share and/or preserve certain data, then the plan must explain the basis of the decision (for example, cost/benefit considerations, other parameters of feasibility, scientific appropriateness, or limitations discussed in Section D.1., “Ownership, Availability and Public Access”). At a minimum, DMPs must describe how data sharing and preservation will enable validation of results, or how results could be validated if data are not shared or preserved.
DOE Public Access policy
- DOE Public Access Policy – As required by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Department of Energy has prepared, secured approval of and posted the DOE Public Access Plan for providing access to the results of DOE-funded scientific research.
- DOE Open Access Policy: What Work is Covered – Quick guide to see if your work is subject to the DOE Open Access Policy.
- Complying with the DOE Open Access Policy – A step by step guide for complying with the DOE Open Access Policy.
- DOE Public Access FAQs – Includes answers to general, author, search, and public access questions.
Open Access
- Open Access Journal Information – Understanding Open Access
- Open Access Publication Resources – List of resources for scientists looking to publish in Open Access venues.
Confidential or Personal Data
Berkeley Lab Policy
As applicable, DMPs must consider measures to protect confidentiality, personal privacy, personally identifiable information, and U.S. national, homeland, and economic security; recognize proprietary interests, business confidential information, and intellectual property rights; avoid significant negative impact on innovation, and U.S. competitiveness; and otherwise be consistent with all applicable laws, regulations, and DOE orders and policies, including Berkeley Lab’s Controlled and Prohibited Information Categories Policy. Research Projects identified as being Export Controlled and/or Restricted (e.g., on the Science & Technology Risk Matrix) require DMPs in accordance with applicable DOE orders and policies. All of these topics must be considered prior to the collection of relevant research data, and any necessary permissions and approvals must be obtained in advance.
Controlled and Prohibited Information Categories
Berkeley Lab Policy on Controlled and Prohibited Information Categories – Sharing of data may be restricted by regulations such as privacy policies, licensing restrictions, confidentiality agreements, export control regulations, or security policies.
Human Subject Research and/or Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
- Personally identifiable information (PII) – DOE FAQ on what to include or not include in your DMP if your research includes human subject research and/or PII.
- Dryad – Examples of direct and indirect identifiers in human subjects data.
- Questions on sharing of human subjects data contact the Human and Animal Regulatory Committees (HARC) at HARC@lbl.gov.
Intellectual Property
Berkeley Lab Policy
Berkeley Lab recognizes the value of research that could lead to economic or commercial benefit. If applicable, such opportunities should be documented and the appropriate technology transfer expert consulted. There is no requirement to share proprietary research data prior to protecting intellectual property.
Licensing or Patent Questions?
For questions about licensing or patenting of Research Data contact the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) at ipo@lbl.gov.
Data Sharing
Berkeley Lab Policy
DMPs should provide a plan for making all research data intended for publication or dissemination open, machine actionable, and digitally accessible to the public at the time of publication, in accordance with Section D.3., “Data Sharing.”
Data Sharing
The intention of sharing research data is that others can build on your work efficiently and helps to advance science. Receiving credit for the data that you share, and giving credit to those whose data you use, is an integral part of the academic system. The article “Ten simple rules for getting and giving credit for data” provides a good introduction into the topic.
For communities with established disciplinary data repositories, it is recommended to use these repositories for data publishing. White House OSTP guidance on Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research identifies a set of desirable characteristics of online, public access data repositories to help ensure that research data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) to the greatest extent possible, while integrating privacy, security, and other protections.
When your community does not have a disciplinary repository, publishing data in general repositories is recommended. Examples of these are Dryad, Zenodo and Figshare. Our recommendation is to use Dryad as a general subject repository for research data. Berkeley Lab is an institutional member of Dryad, meaning all Berkeley Lab researchers can submit research data (up to 300 GB per dataset) to Dryad at no cost. Publishing data in Dryad ensures long-term preservation and availability.
For Dryad questions, contact Geoff Hamm at ghamm@lbl.gov.
Software Sharing
- Berkeley Lab Policy on Software Disclosure and Distribution – Employees and affiliates who have written software that will be distributed to any third party or that will be useful either commercially or for other government contractors must submit a Software Disclosure form to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). It is the developer’s responsibility to report all software prior to distribution, and to obtain the appropriate license agreement from IPO.
- Zenodo is a research data and code repository that fulfills the recommended standards for data sharing and is a convenient way to pull GitHub packages into the repository.
Data Citations
- Citation Management/Publishing Tools – Citation, or bibliographic, management software can be a useful tool for anyone doing research.
- Cornell University’s practical guide on how to use data citations.
Sharing Methods and Protocols
- Sharing methods and protocols supports the reproducibility and replicability of research. Research articles in the scientific literature typically have a Methods section to document how research was performed. However, those sections are often not suitable to describe research methods in sufficient detail.
- A number of scientific journals publish detailed methods or protocols as a full research paper, thereby providing academic credit.
- Software tools such as protocols.io allow researchers to develop and collaborate on research methods as well as to share them in a citable manner. The University of California has subscribed to protocols.io, providing LBNL users with premium access.
NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy
- NIH DM and Sharing Policy Guide for Berkeley Lab – Quick guide on what is new, what you need to do, and where you can get help.
- NIH Blog, “12 Days of Data Management and Sharing Tips & Resources”.
Questions?
- For questions about Berkeley Lab’s Research Data Policy, contact the Research Compliance Office at rco@lbl.gov.
- For assistance with the process of sharing research data please contact Science-IT at science-it@lbl.gov.
- Questions on publication or Dryad? Contact the Publications Office at publications@lbl.gov. For Dryad questions, contact Geoff Hamm at ghamm@lbl.gov.
Data Sharing Practices
Berkeley Lab Policy
DMPs should reference community best practices for data when applicable, including for the specific data type and field as well as FAIR data principles (see Section D.3, “Data Sharing”). For non-standard data types, a description of planned processing and definitions should be included.
FAIR Sharing Principles
FAIR Principles. The FAIR principles address the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability of data and metadata.
Persistent Identifiers
If possible, select repositories that give you a persistent identifier. Here are some tools that might help to identify repositories:
Data Formats
Berkeley Lab Policy
Deposited data should use openly documented data formats and metadata standards.
File Format Recommendations
- Library of Congress – Recommended formats for datasets.
- University of Oregon – File format recommendations for research data.
Machine Actionable Data Management Plans
Berkeley Lab Policy
Where applicable, DMPs should be provided in a machine actionable format.
Tools
- DMPTool – Free tool to Berkeley Lab members automatically creates machine-actionable DMPs.
- Dmptool GitHub – Information on DMP IDs & Networked DMPs (maDMPs)
Guidance
- Blog: “Scoping machine-actionable DMPs” – Key questions answered in this blog about maDMPs, such as, How are they different from traditional DMPs?
- Paper: “Ten principles for machine-actionable data management plans.” Read about the 10 principles and specific steps that must be taken to put DMPs into practice and to realize their benefits.
Copyrighted Data
Berkeley Lab Policy
Research projects with the potential intent to assert copyright of the data for licensing should discuss sharing limitations, and the appropriate technology transfer expert should be consulted.
Copyright Questions?
- Questions About Copyright? – LBNL IT guidelines and publisher specific examples.
- For questions, contact publications@lbl.gov
Data License
Berkeley Lab Policy
A DMP should declare the intended data license, for example to assert copyright for research data for a sponsored research project.
Creative Commons Licenses
Data sharing or open access publishing typically implements Creative Commons licenses to regulate the sharing. Typically, the CC-BY attribution license is used, that allows others to reuse or build on your work, as long as appropriate credit is provided to the original creator. Other Creative Commons license types allow for further restrictions.
Licensing or Patent Questions?
For questions about licensing or patenting of Research Data contact the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) at ipo@lbl.gov.