Planning

When planning your research, it is important to consider how you will manage your data. This is the very first step in the research data lifecycle; you define your research question, and pinpoint relevant data sources. This includes planning how you will collect, store, and share your data, as well as how you will ensure its security and privacy. You formulate a plan for your data management, which is a living document that you can update as your research progresses.

Important

As in other sections we would like to refer you to other TU Delft resources:

• The Think & Plan section from the TU Delft Navigating Research Data and Software: A Practical Guide for PhD Supervisors guide for more information on the planning stage of your research project.
• TU Delft RDM page - Plan section
• RDM 101 course - Module 5 - How to plan for RDM

Data management plan

TU Delft emphasizes the importance of data management planning and asks researchers to create a data management plan (DMP) at the start of their research project. In many cases this is also a formal requirement. TU Delft provides a dedicated tool called DMPonline to help you write a DMP.

Important

Please consult your faculty data steward for more information regarding DMPs and the specific requirements for your faculty.

Also, you can find more information on DMPs:

• PhD Supervisors guide - Data management plan
• TU Delft RDM page - “Data Management Plans”
• TU Delft RDM page - “DMPonline”
• RDM 101 course - Module 5 - DMP

What to do if you have sensitive data?

If your datasets contains personal, confidential, or otherwise sensitive information, you need to consider how to handle this data appropriately.

Privacy

Handle sensitive data.

Learn more »