DMP : Long-term preservation
For this topic, describe the long-term disposition of your data, code, and other research products. If you plan to deposit your data at a repository, data center, or archive, your response for this section may overlap with information in "7.1 Access and sharing".
Will you submit your data to a repository for long-term archiving and preservation? Which one?
- In some cases, you may have to use different repositories for different data types.
- See "4.1 Public-access repositories, archives, and databases" for our data repository suggestions.
- If you cannot find an appropriate data repository, contact the program officer or editor for direction.
For how long will you (or a repository) preserve your data?
- This depends on wide variety of factors. Consult the funding agency or journal's requirements for official guidelines.
- All data produced with federal grants should be retained for a minimum of three years (OMB- Office of Management and Budget).
- UMD’s retention policy for most research records is a minimum of seven years after the completion of research. Different terms apply to investigational new drugs and investigational devices (UMD Records Schedule, Item 84).
- If you conduct research under HIPAA regulations, you should plan to retain data for a minimum of six years.
- Data related to patents should be retained for the life of the patent.
- In addition, consider the potential value of your data in temporal terms: will the value increase, decrease, or remain constant over time? For example, social and environmental observations that cannot be recreated may increase in value.
If there are costs associated with long-term archiving and preservation, such as deposit fees at a repository, how will you cover them?
- You may be able to request funds in your proposal budget. Consult the funding agency or journal's requirements for official guidelines.
