Research Data Management
Service Overview
As research moves more and more into the digital realm, creating and maintaining a data management plan (DMP) for research data management (RDM) is now mandatory or highly recommended by many of the funding agencies and foundations. A data management plan is a written document that describes the data you expect to acquire or generate during the course of a research project, how you will manage, describe, analyze, and store those data, and what mechanisms you will use at the end of your project to share and preserve your data. Research data management is also no longer a STEM/STEAM issue as activities in the Digital Humanities and non-STEM domains are increasingly reliant on technology.
What We Offer
OU Libraries and campus organizations provide a range of services and resources to support researchers in managing, sharing, and preserving their data effectively. Researchers are encouraged to consult with the OU Libraries’ Research Data Specialist, who provides expert guidance on data management plans and best practices in research data management. Support is available through individual consultations, workshops, collaboration and instructor training opportunities, and regularly scheduled Data Services open office hours.
- Consultations
- Collaboration and instructor training
- Data Services open office hours
- Workshops
Get Started
Who Can Use This Service
Anyone!
Get Help
Data Services Open Office Hours
Problems with your Python or R script? Issues with your data? Software problems? Come visit the OU Libraries Data Research Specialist during one of their two open office hour sessions. No need for an appointment, just drop by and get your questions answered.
Open office hours are hosted in person in Bizzell Memorial Library room LL121E and in our Zoom drop-in virtual meeting room.
Hours:
Mondays 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Thursdays 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Fridays 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
You can find additional help by contacting your library specialist or by using the Digital Scholarship and Data Services contact form.
Resources at OU Libraries
Data Management Plans
Contact the Research Data Specialist for guidance to start planning your data management plan (DMP), funding policies as they relate to DMPs for various domains/subjects, and a list of possible data repositories for housing your research data.
Data Workshops
Workshops targeted to researchers of all levels (students, postdocs, faculty, and staff) to increase working efficiency with understanding of research and data better practices. Learn more about our workshops at OU Libraries.
ORCID
Your personal, persistent, and unique digital identifier.
Software and Data Carpentry
Information about Software and Data Carpentry workshops, collaborations, and instructor training available on the Norman campus.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Registering your digital assets/datasets for a citable reference.
Sharing Research Databases
Researchers and authors are encouraged to consult with the Research Data Specialist early in the data management planning phase in order to take advantage of their expertise and recommendations for data management tools and help identify an appropriate data repository.
Tools and Software for Research Data Management
DMPTool
The DMPTool helps researchers create data management plans (DMPs). It provides guidance from specific funders who require DMPs, but the tool can be used by anyone interested in developing generic DMPs to help facilitate their research. Log in with your OUNetID.
Zotero
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources, especially PDFs . Check out the OU Libraries Bibliographic Software services page for more details.
Open Science Framework
The Open Science Framework (OSF) supports the entire research lifecycle: planning, execution, reporting, archiving, and discovery. It provides project management with collaborators, and project sharing with the public. The OSF is maintained by the non-profit Center for Open Science.
Contact Information
FAQs
You can make an appointment with Mark Laufersweiler, OU Libraries Research Data Specialist, to schedule a consultation, or use the DSDS contact form to send him your questions.