Planning & collection

At the beginning of any research process, and ideally even before any data is collected, it is important to create a plan for that specific project and process. The creation of a Data Management Plan (DMP) is the foundation of the entire research data management process. Such a plan contains fundamental information about the research project, the type and identification of the data, the method of data collection, responsibilities, funding and resources, the (meta)data standards, the legal situation and a definition of the next steps. It also states what data are already available and what new data will be generated to answer the project’s scientific question. A DMP describes the handling of data before, during and after a project.

Although the DMP, including all considerations and specifications, is prepared at the beginning of the project, it should be regularly reviewed and supported by detailed documentation during the different phases of the project’s data life cycle.

Once these key principles have been established, data collection, including data modelling*, can be undertaken in a structured and standardised manner. New and/or existing, reused data will be collected according to the defined standards.

*Data modelling describes the process of clearly identifying the managed objects and data by visualising them in the form of a data flow diagram in relation to metadata and infrastructures. The schematic representation enables the connections between the data and the data structure to be clearly shown.