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Research Data Management

This guide will assist researchers in planning for the various stages of managing their research data and in preparing data management plans required with funding proposals.

DoD Data Sharing Requirement

  1. A Data Management Plan (DMP) submitted as part of any funding proposal
  2. Data underlying publications are publicly accessible by default at the time of publication
  3. Metadata accompanying data is made freely available for reuse

Scientific data not associated with a peer-reviewed scholarly publication:

DoD currently maintains the DoD Data Set Directory, a directory of scientific data sets from
research efforts conducted by or for DoD. The DoD Data Set Directory includes metadata for
each data set in the Directory and points to either a uniform resource locator for the location of
data sets or provides contact points for researchers to request access to data sets. The DoD
Data Set Directory is behind a firewall, accessible to DoD employees and DoD contractor
personnel only and is not available to the general public.

See section 5.2 DoD implementation plan for free, immediate, and equitable access to federally funded research 

DoD Data Management Plan

A Data Management Plan (DMP) must be submitted with all research proposals, describing the digitally formatted scientific data created or gathered in the course of DoD intramural and extramural research. The plan will describe how and where the data will be made available to the public and explicitly describe how the data that underlies scientific publications will be available for discovery, retrieval, and analysis.

Digitally formatted scientific data resulting from unclassified, publicly releasable research supported wholly or in part by DoD funding should be stored and publicly accessible to search, retrieve, and analyze to the extent feasible and consistent with applicable law and policy; agency mission; resource constraints; and U.S. national, homeland, and economic security. For the purposes of this draft proposed plan, data will not be publicly releasable if release would compromise the ability to file for intellectual property protection on any invention arising from the data.

DMP may include the following information:

  • The types of data, software, curriculum materials, and other materials to be produced in the course of the project that are publicly releasable;
  • The standards to be used for data and metadata format and content;
  • Conditions for access and sharing including provisions for appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or other rights or requirements;
  • Conditions and provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the creation of derivative works; and
  • Plans for archiving datasets, or data samples, and other digitally formatted scientific data, and for preservation of access

Where should I share my data?

For extramural researchers, DOD will issue guidance on where data is to be deposited that is aligned with the National Science and Technology Council’s Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research. 

The DOD also requires you to submit a record  to the centralized data catalog/locator at DOD Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) to consolidate the metadata for compliance, measurement, and discovery. 

When should I submit my data?

At the time of publication, defined as when research findings are published in a peer-reviewed scientific or technical journal.