I was reading through a thesis planner, and it mentioned creating a data management plan as part of developing your research design and methodology . According to UFV, it helps you plan "the types of data you will collect, standards to document your data (metadata), security measures to protect the confidentiality of your subjects and intellectual property, and methods for archiving and sharing your data" .
This sounds incredibly organized and professional, but is it overkill for a master's thesis? I'll be doing qualitative interviews, so I'm worried about keeping everything confidential and organized. Do grad students usually make one of these formal plans, or is it more for big, funded research projects? I want to be organized, but I also don't want to create unnecessary paperwork for myself.
This sounds incredibly organized and professional, but is it overkill for a master's thesis? I'll be doing qualitative interviews, so I'm worried about keeping everything confidential and organized. Do grad students usually make one of these formal plans, or is it more for big, funded research projects? I want to be organized, but I also don't want to create unnecessary paperwork for myself.