NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy

The "Related Tools, Software, and/or Code" element of your data management and sharing plan should include the following details:

• Whether special tools, software, or code will be needed to use your data
• The names of these needed tools, software, or code and how they will be shared

JHU Data Services has created the following best practice resources for sharing software and code. For one-on-one support, reach out to JHU Data Services.

• Planning for Software Reproducibility and Reuse - A 22-minute, self-paced learning module presenting best practices for creating understandable, reproducible, reusable, and citable software and scripts. Additional topics include intellectual property considerations and ensuring the long-term accessibility of code.
• Software Archiving Resources for Researchers - A document with guidance on identifying archival repositories for software, publishing software and making it citable, licensing software openly, etc.
• Software Archiving Checklist - A document with descriptions and examples of key elements to consider when archiving software.

The DMPTool's section on the "Related Tools, Software, and/or Code" element of your data management and sharing plan includes two text boxes, one for specifying the names of specialized tools needed for data use and another for indicating how users will access these tools (e.g., via free, open sources; via fee-based proprietary sources; upon request from the research team that generated the data; etc.).

Accompanying each box is sample language and targeted guidance from NIH.

See the "Planning Step 5: Consider Using the DMPTool to Write Your DMS Plan" page of this guide for more about the DMPTool.