More and more, grants are requiring a data management plan in order to meet their funder requirements. A good data management plan will also help you manage your data and help others use your data if shared.

A good resource available to you at the university is the DMP Tool. This tool provides templates for Data Management and Sharing Plans that comply with NIH and other funder requirements. You can access the tool with your Mizzou email address, enabling you to share your plans with a data librarian for review and access templates containing language specific to Mizzou’s resources.  

Not sure where to start? Schedule a Data Management and Sharing Consultation with a librarian.

If you have a data management and sharing plan already, you can submit your Data Management and Sharing Plan for a Data Librarian to review.  

Finding available data can be difficult, but our data services librarian can help with the process. To get started, you can find some available health datasets linked on our guide.

Once you find your data, how do you make sure the data you find is credible? Here are some steps for you to keep in mind to ensure what you find is useful for your project.

1. Look for supporting documentation outlining what the data is, how it was collected, and how to interpret the data.
   • Tip: Look for readme files, data dictionaries/codebooks, and a collection methodology
2. Make sure you can open all files associated with the data.
3. Ensure that all files are clearly labeled and store the information and/or data that is indicated in the file name.
4. Within the data files, check for the following:
   • Variables are clearly labeled with standard naming conventions.
     • Example: First names are labeled as FirstName and last names are labeled as LastName
   • Units of measurement for different variables are explicitly stated.
     • Example: You can tell if measurements are given in centimeters (cm) or inches (in)
   • Each variable contains a discrete unit of information.
     • Example: blood pressure and zip code are stored in separate columns
   • Variables follow data standards and have consistent formatting.
     • Example: All dates are in yyyy-mm-dd format

Still need help finding and evaluating data? Connect with our data services librarian who can help you find the data you need.

With more focus on data, especially how to store and share your data for grants, we recently established data services at the Health Sciences Libary.

Our library data services strive to ensure the reproducibility of scientific research by training students, staff, and faculty to find, interpret, manage, and preserve research data, making your work easier and less overwhelming while enhancing your research visibility and reach.  

The Data Services Librarian can help: 

• find and evaluate datasets 

• find the appropriate repository to store your data 

• review your data for findability and reusability to create a data management plan which are a requirement for NIH grants 

• point to resources to learn how to analyze your data 

Visit our data services page to learn more and to connect with our data services librarian.