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How does a QAP compare with a DMP?

By Data Management

They focus on different aspects of the data workflow. Unless you need a separate QAP document, most of the information for a QAP could be incorporated as a separate section of your DMP, or dispersed through your existing DMP sections as appropriate. The aim of quality planning is to clearly identify and document the data-quality criteria and goals for your data.

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DMP - Data Management Plan

The DMP covers most of the general topics involved in the the Data Lifecycle, such as declaring roles and responsibilities, providing for data security, itemizing all data acquisitions, describing data processing and transformation, documenting analysis software and methods, establishing preservation and repository goals, and itemizing data products, among others.

QAP - Quality Assurance Plan

The QAP focuses on establishing "quality goals, criteria, and procedures" overall, and identifies or defines specific methods, processes, assessments, and metrics that ensure those goals are met. 

A single QAP for a common data type (such as species counts, or air quality) might be applicable to and reusable by more than one project, just as a DMP might serve as a template for new projects that use a common field protocol.

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