Data services is a new initiative from the Brown Library aiming to help researchers in all stages of the data lifecycle. Here you can find information on creating a data management plan, software available for working with data, as well as information on saving and sharing your data.
For a more detailed look at managing and sharing data, the UK Data Archive has created a best practices guide for researchers.
Data management plans (DMP) are now required by many funding agencies and insure that data is stored and accessible for future research. Data management plans can also increase access to your publications and research, increasing readership and use of your research data.
Data management plans are not difficult! They describe your data, give information about how it is saved and shared and is a method of archiving and preserving your data. Data management plans are a maximum of two pages long, and can be created in minutes.
DMPtool - This is one of the most popular Data Management Plan building tools, and allows researchers to quickly create their own DMP. This website also gives examples and helpful tips in creating your DMP and has requirements from the major funders for DMPs.
Other examples of DMP : National Endowment for the Humanities has over 100 examples of DMPs that have been funded. Inter-university consortium for political and social research also has a good outline for DMPs.
Dropbox, Google Drive and similar cloud storage systems are efficient means of saving, storing, and sharing data. These services encrypt files while in transit for added security. Here are some how to guides on syncing your files on your computer, to Google drive, Dropbox, and iCloud.
Using these services is important for backing up data, and keeping it in one place while you are working. After your project is complete, if you would like your data to be accessible to anyone interested in using it for future research, as well as discoverable on search engines such as Google, we encourage you to use our Digital repository.
ACU's repository, the Digital Commons, is capable of describing, storing and making accessible various file formats including text (pdf) and images (jpg). Digital Commons can also ingest data files and make them searchable, sharable and accessible. Researchers can also see metrics of who is looking at your data and how many are downloading it. For more information visit the Website.
Open Science Framework- this is a free, open source web application that connects the whole research workflow. You can collaborate, share documents, archive, register research projects and more.
There is no standard in the USA for citing data.
The digital curation centre has a good guide available here: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/reports/guides/How_to_Cite_Link.pdf
The Canadian government has a good resource for citing Census data, maps and more.
Michigan State University also has some good examples for citing US data.
