23 Task and Roles
Previous Lesson
Lesson 5 of 11
A data management plan should include definitions of the responsibilities and roles of different research team members.
In the case of a graduate student project, the responsibilities may largely be yours, because you are the primary researcher, but you should also consider the role of your supervisor and committee. If your project is a part of a larger ongoing project by a team or research lab group, there can also be additional team members to consider.
You need to document who is responsible for data collection, processing, and analysis, particularly if these tasks are specific to certain roles on a project. You should also note who is responsible for storage and any data transfer between storage locations and types, including back-ups.
For example, on a project with recorded human participant interviews, who is responsible for making the recordings? Who then transfers them from the recording device to any other storage location(s) for further processing? In some cases, this work may be done by a research assistant, or secure transfer of data to a transcriptionist may need to be arranged.
On a student-led project, you may need to arrange how you will share your data with your supervisor and/or committee members and how you will keep any sensitive data secure. You can use a DMP as a tool to document these processes for yourself and your supervisor.
