Nightmare on Research Street 2018: The Beginning

The University of Oklahoma Libraries and the Graduate College hosted Nightmare on Research Street: the Beginning from 3-5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 26.

"The Graduate College was proud to co-sponsor the Nightmare on Research Street program, said Tyteanah Cravin graduate assistant with the graduate college. “It is important for graduate students and postdocs to have a community during such stressful times of their academic career. This event helped provide an outlet to have fun and learn valuable tips to ensure their success.”

Seventeen participants shared data and file horror stories from dramatic hardware failures to misunderstanding how their system’s automated backups work. Others told tales of terror during field and lab work as data sheets were misplaced without copies, hard drives teetered on the brink of failure in hot and humid climates, and laboratory standards were improperly stored and damaged. Participants discussed solutions to save us all from these specters in future research, including the "3-2-1" backup rule, understanding how your backups work and the importance of good project management plans. These resources and others can be discussed with research information specialists to prevent more visits from the monsters of research loss.

Visit Data Services (formerly DAVIS: Data Analytics, Visualization & Informatics Syndicate) to learn more. Open office hours for the fall semester are available Thursdays from 1-3 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. - noon.