Bits and Pieces

The Deep Blue Data development and service teams have been hard at work incorporating feedback from our diverse community of users. Development is ongoing and we are rolling out many small changes, but we are excited to highlight a few new features that we have released recently.

At the May 2017 Data Bites meeting, Research Data Services (RDS) Manager Jake Carlson presented on his work with an IMLS-funded project, Data Management Plans as a Research Tool (DART). This multi-institutional project is investigating data management plans (DMPs) from the point of view of the researchers who write and implement them: what are they including in their plans; how does this reflect their understanding of funding agency guidance; and how can we, as librarians, better support their efforts?

The first in a series of how-to guides helping you to preserve your personal files and archives!

We are putting together a super sweet lab to handle born-digital content!!

This past week, the University of Michigan Library was pleased to host the second annual Midwest Data Librarian Symposium (MDLS). The goal of the symposium was to offer librarians who work with research data in the midwest a chance to network and discuss issues in their fields.

A summary of a risk assessment model as applied to a born-digital archival collection at M Library.

You probably know that the University of Michigan Library offers a variety of educational programs, but did you know that these programs include topics relevant to working with research data?

It is common scholarly practice to publish results of research, and it is becoming increasingly more important to share the underlying data. Data sharing allows for the replicability and verification of experimental findings and allow for reuse in new and unexpected ways. Sharing your data may also increase the impact of your research.

Documenting your data is kind of like eating your spinach. You know that you need to do it to keep your data healthy, but it’s not something that you look forward to. Good documentation takes an investment of time and energy. It can feel like grunt work, or that it is slowing you down when you really want to keep making progress on your research.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines organized as: “Of a person: having one's affairs in order so as to be able to deal with them efficiently.”

When you spend the best hours of your day doing research and working with data, it makes sense to be organized so you can use your time as efficiently as possible. One of the methods for maintaining an organized research life is by developing a data management plan (DMP).