Data Management Plans for Transportation Professionals

Research and communications for transportation professionals Guidance for Developing and Managing Data Management Plans Brian Hirt AASHTO Research Advisory Committee Meeting July 2024

First, putting on my linguist hat! Is it correct to say The data is or The data are ? data data data data data data data data data data data data data data data data data data data data DATA data data data data data data The easy answer: YES

What is a data management plan? Describes a research team s plans for: Handling, formatting and managing data used or generated over the life of a research project Storing and providing long-term access to that data after a research contract expires Typically covers data that: Underlies and validates research findings Captures a one-time event Will be costly or difficult to replicate Holds long-term value for the research community May also be called data management and sharing plans Data Lifecycle from the LMA Research Data Management Working Group

Why develop a data management plan? Prompted by the February 2013 White House memorandum Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research Requires transparency of data derived from or generated by research funded by federal agencies Exempts research funded with state funds, pooled funds and federal State Planning and Research (SP&R) funding Still, many state DOTs are considering or currently requiring DMPs I ll talk later about a Mississippi DOT project now underway

Begin with a few critical decision points Which projects will require a DMP? All contracted research All SP&R-funded research Projects with a significant amount of data Projects in response to an RFP Who approvesa DMP? Research manager Technical committee chair Technical committee or other oversight body Stakeholder collaboration When to submit an initial DMP? With the project proposal As part of the work plan After the kickoff meeting Within a specified number of days after a notice to proceed

Begin with a few critical decision points Will you require an updated DMP? No update As needed (for example, changes in data generation) Set schedule during life of project At project completion Remember to include a change log at the end of the plan if you do require updates. Data Management Toolkit @ UNH

Plan templates and typical plan elements Organizations are developing DMP templates for their researchers, often with embedded prompts for completing the plan. Cover or title page May use form fields to identify the research team, provide project details and describe the dataset; some plans also include a glossary Data description Data standards Data access and security policies Data sharing and reuse policies Data archiving and preservation Earth Science Data Systems Monthly Newsletter

Typical data management plan elements Data description Data standards Describe the data to be created or used (types, scale, volume and sources) Describe data collection methods Identify the data s long-term value to potential users Identify stable file formats (open or proprietary) and establish file naming conventions Ensure consistent data organization with version control, use of a data dictionary, readme files and embedded metadata; consider using a metadata schema What is a metadata schema? Defined by a Carnegie Mellon University Libraries research guide as data that provide descriptive information (content, context, quality, structure and accessibility) about a data product and enable others to search for and use the data product.

Typical data management plan elements Data access and security policies Describe procedures for securing or deidentifying personal or sensitive data Present data safeguards and mitigation resources Identify potential restrictions on access or use Describe the embargo period, if one is used Data sharing and reuse policies Describe how information derived from data can be shared Consider: Licenses NIEHS Data Management and Sharing Plan Checklist Dissemination methods Intellectual property rights

Typical data management plan elements Data archiving and preservation Identify a dataset repository Retain at the state DOT (shared drive, cloud storage) Utilize a state- or university-managed repository Require submission to ROSA P Utilize a researcher-selected long-term repository Identify backup strategies and disaster recovery plans Describe procedures for tracking reuse, preservation and curation Consider file migration if software formats change over time Describe the retention period for data

Submitting a data package to a repository Each repository will have its own requirements for data packages. Complete data packages submitted to National Transportation Library for upload to ROSA P include: Dataset Research report for which the data was collected Human-readable readme.txt file that includes a data dictionary, standards used and definitions Machine-readable metadata file in a published standard Data management plan Any supporting files or tables Codes or scripts used in data analysis ROSA P LibGuide

Preparing to require a data management plan Recent Mississippi DOT synthesis evaluated the current DMP state of the practice Survey of RAC members received 33 responses Seven agencies require a DMP Thirteen agencies don t require a DMP but are considering them Thirteen agencies don t require and are not considering DMPs Mississippi DOT is working with CTC & Associates to develop a DMP template and researcher guidance Neuroscience: Research Data Management Research Guide, Carol M. Newman Library, Virginia Tech

Selected data management plan resources Just a few of the DMP resources available online Research Data Management LibGuide National Transportation Library Mississippi DOT s DMP Project Current efforts focus on the development of a DMP template and guidance for the research teams that will be tasked with developing these plans. Feedback from selected research teams will inform development of the DMP template and agency procedures. Data Management Plan Guide Iowa State University Research Data Management Carnegie Mellon University Libraries Data Management is a Sideshow Pangs or Data Management and Sharing Plans? National Transportation Library The final report for this project will be publicly available in 2025.

Want to know more? We re here! (And look in the program book for contact info) Brian Hirt Principal and CEO 402-770-9076 brian.hirt@ctcandassociates.com Chris Kline Chief Operating Officer 920-401-9323 chris.kline@ctcandassociates.com Also Project PI