Ethical Clearance and Funder Requirements
Data Management Plan (DMP)
Institutions and funding bodies are now recognising the importance of effective data management in ensuring the ethical handling of research data. The NWU Research Data Management Policy (PDF) requires that every research study that generates data include a Research Data Management Plan (RDMP). Students and researchers are required to include a DMP as part of the application process. A Research Data Management Plan outlines how data will be collected, stored, shared, and preserved, and addresses issues such as confidentiality and data security, which are crucial to ethical research practices. In the RDMP, researchers can specify data collection, documentation and metadata, ethics and legal compliance, storage and backup, data selection and preservation, data sharing, and responsibilities and resources.
The RDMP ensures compliance with ethical data privacy, security, and integrity standards, addresses potential risks, and details procedures for data collection, storage, sharing, and disposal. By incorporating a data management plan, researchers demonstrate their commitment to ethical practices and to safeguarding participant information throughout the research project.
Funder requirements increasingly require researchers to include a detailed data management plan (DMP) in their grant applications. This requirement ensures that researchers outline how they will handle, store, and share data throughout the project lifecycle. Incorporating well-structured Data Management Plans (DMPs) into grant applications can strengthen proposals, enhance research transparency, facilitate collaboration, and maximise the impact of funded projects.
Services
Systems and Tools
- Data Management Planning Tool: The DMPTool helps postgraduate students and researchers to prepare and create research data management plans. It provides tailored guidance and examples to help researchers write data management plans.
Training Material
Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)
Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) is a tool that solves author name misidentification by providing persistent, unique IDs for researchers. Many funders require researchers to have an ORCID ID when applying for grants. This persistent identifier helps funders and institutions track and efficiently manage research outputs.
Services
Systems and Tools
- You can register for an account via ORCID and add publications.
- Register your ORCID on Intembeko, and the Intembeko ORCID Hub (follow these steps (PDF)) will connect research staff and students with the organisations where they study, are employed, or receive funding.
- Register your ORCID on the NWU Manuscript System to integrate your ORCID registry with existing NWU systems.