How Rutgers Librarians Power Research Data Success

In most areas of academic research, data is fundamental to the research process. Researchers may start by studying existing sources of data, seeking out new data sources that address research questions, or generating their own original data. Data sources could range from individually collected data to massive crowdsourced datasets like eBird,  among the world’s largest biodiversity-related science projects, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed annually by eBirders around the world and an average participation growth rate of approximately 20 percent year over year. Another example, IPUMS, a systematically structured compilation of existing official census data from countries around the world, can enable new comparisons and research in ways that simply were not possible before its creation.

Once collected, data can be processed and analyzed and then used in research and publication. For example, path-breaking methods of data linkage and analysis led to the ongoing work reflected in Opportunity Insights, which has explored various dimensions of social, educational, and economic mobility via detailed data analysis, resulting in numerous research publications, downloadable datasets, and GIS interfaces.

After publication, it is desirable and often required that research data be preserved, archived, and then shared and made accessible to other researchers. Other researchers can then reuse this data as inputs to their own research process, starting the data life cycle all over again. One well-known Rutgers repository for a specific kind of scientific data is the Protein Data Bank for protein structures. Researchers can also make use of general-purpose open data repositories like Zenodo.

What This Means for Researchers

• Researchers should be familiar with their disciplinary standards for data preparation and sharing, such as the NSF and NIH guidelines for their grant programs.
• Researchers should also know about the FAIR and CARE principles guiding work with data. These ensure that data will be ethically managed and discoverable for reuse.
• The wide range of existing official data sources and data repositories can be mined for reuseable data to integrate into research.
• Keeping up with the latest methodologies can increase productivity and open up new avenues for research.

How Rutgers University Libraries Can Help

The Libraries’ Research Data team is ready to assist you in every stage of the research data life cycle, helping to build your skills.

Although there is more, three main avenues of assistance are our guides, workshops, and specialists.

1 - Browse our research guides.

We provide guides to Data Management, Data Sources, and Data Tools to help you get started.

• Data Management will help you write a data management plan, share your data in a data repository, and learn other best practices for data management.
• Data Sources describes and links to major resources that provide data in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and health.
• Data Tools links to learning materials (including videos and code) on statistical software and methods (R, Python, and SAS), AI, GIS, and other computing resources for working with data.

2 - Register for a workshop.

We have an extensive series of workshops on software, skills, and methods for making effective use of data.

3 – Contact our specialists.

Our team stands ready to assist you, consisting of librarians, staff, and specialists with expertise in data management, quantitative and qualitative data, statistics, AI, GIS, and more. Contact us to set up a consultation or just email a member of our team with your questions about anything data related!

If you’re not sure who to contact or have any other research questions, write to ask_research@libraries.rutgers.edu.