In 2020, Nature published, “Research integrity: nine ways to move from talk to walk.” The article described how essential sharing of resources, including data sharing, was to research.

The challenge comes about when navigating what, where, when and how to share data especially with collaborators internationally.

For example, the European Union has enacted new laws for the protection of personal data that research collaborators (including those in the United States) must abide by.

• The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive and other rules concerning the protection of personal data.

Data Management

What is data management and why do I need to worry about it?

• A data management plan (DMP) is a written document that describes 1) data you expect to acquire/generate during a research project; 2) how you will manage, describe, analyze, and store the data, and 3) what mechanisms you will use to share and preserve your data.
• UAMS Data Sharing Policy
• Federal research funders and agencies require it.
  • National Institutes of Health – (NIH Data Sharing since 2003)
    • Common Data Elements (CDEs) are a type of health data standard commonly used in clinical and research settings. CDEs ensure collected data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR).
  • Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing – (effective January 25, 2023)
  • NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy – (since 2014)
    • Institutions are responsible for assuring, via Institutional Certification, that the submission of large-scale human genomic data to NIH meets the Genomic Data Sharing Policy.
  • NIH DMP requirements and specific repositories
• National Science Foundation
• National Academy of Medicine
• Office of Research Integrity

Examples of Data Management plans are coming soon.