Digital Scholarship & Data Services

Digital Scholarship and Data Services (DSDS) is led by Tyler Pearson, Director. It supports the work of the Digital Strategies and Innovation division and includes expertise in the following areas:

• 3D Scanning Lab - Augments the research and instruction life cycle of the OU community by providing researchers with 3D equipment, software, and consultation.
• Data Services - Supports researchers with their data needs through consultations on management, analysis, and visualization of data.
• Digital Scholarship - Offers collaborative, cross-disciplinary research and digital scholarship support through workshops, consultation, and project partnerships.
• Informatics - Provides expertise in information engineering, emphasizing the automation, storage, and retrieval of data through digital infrastructure.
• Research 3D Printing - Supports campus research through 3D printing consultations and services, bringing expertise across a broad range of materials, print volumes, and printer setups.

Consultations

We are available for consultations to discuss:

• Tools and technologies - We can provide guidance on using tools for which we have expertise and can collaborate with you on approaches to develop a deeper understanding of tools we are less familiar with.
• Methodologies and workflows - We can help you determine which options could be most supportive of your research goals.
• Research and theory - Our team of experts are trained in a variety of disciplines. We are excited to explore how your research intersects with digital scholarship, data science, information science, arts & humanities research and more.
• Campus collaborative opportunities - We can help connect you with other members of the OU community who can help you further your research goals.

Embedded Course Instruction

Faculty may request to collaborate directly with our library specialists through integrated course instruction. Specialists are available for one-time class visits or to collaborate on semester-long classes.

Research Data Management

We provide guidance and support on creating data management plans, curating research data, or using generalist data repositories such as Dryad and Open Science Framework (OSF).

Grant Funded Project Support

We offer collaboration on grant-funded projects. DSDS personnel are available for embedded grant support on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in collaborating with our specialists on a grant project, please get in touch with us.

Workshops

We offer workshops on a variety of topics each semester. Though some topics may be suitable for intermediate or advanced skill sets, most workshops are meant to provide an introduction to a tool or topic. Please visit the Workshops page for more info and the Libraries' events calendar for a full schedule of library events and planned workshops. 

Check back in August for the Fall 2025 workshop schedule!

Sample topics include:

• Data Cleaning with Open Refine
• Getting Better Results with Prompt Engineering
• Version Control using Git/GitHub
• Visualizations in Python using Matplotlib
• R for Social Sciences

AI Pilot of Tools and Workshop Curriculum for Research and Instruction

Mark, Tyler, and Varun have received a $10,000 OU seed funding award in an effort to increase AI awareness and use on campus. This project establishes an AI sandbox in University Libraries to provide hands-on access to generative and non-generative AI tools (JupyterLab, LibreChat, LiteLLM). The project includes the creation of training materials and fall workshops to support learning and experimentation with AI technologies.

Piloting a 3D object storage repository (Elevator)

Elevator is an expansion of services in Research 3D Scanning intended to support courses and research. This repository can be used to store, view, and share assets, including 3D models created by university personnel. The aim of this service is to increase the accessibility of fragile, difficult-to-physically-access artifacts and collections to the campus community and beyond. 

The Nautilus Portal

University Libraries is using Nautilus to provide researchers with hosted pods (also known as containers) for JupyterLab environments to access common software setups for coding languages and applications. Check out our Nautilus service page for more info!