This document provides an overview of data management for librarians. It defines data and data management, which involves helping researchers cite, store, catalogue, and provide access to their data. A data management plan is a plan for how a researcher will handle their data during and after their research. Many funding agencies now require a data management plan. The document encourages librarians to refer researchers to their institution's data services team for help with data management tasks and creating data management plans. It also emphasizes that data management is now an important part of the librarian's role to support researchers.

1. O R ,
W H A T E V E R Y L I B R A R I A N S H O U L D K N O W
A B O U T D A T A M A N A G E M E N T
Data Management for
Librarians

2. A few definitions…
Really, what is data?
Mostly what we’re referring to here is raw data,
numbers, text, etc. However:
Anything anyone is studying for the purposes of
research can be referred to as data…

3. What is data management?
You already know this: it’s helping the researcher
appropriately:
 a) cite their data
 b) store their data
 c) catalogue their data
 d) provide access to their data
 e) etc.
There are some good definitions of these and other related terms
here: https://www.lib.umn.edu/datamanagement/whatdata.

4. What is a data management plan?
In a nutshell, it is a plan for how the researcher will
handle their data both during and after their research.

5. Why is this relevant?
Much like any other resource used for research and
education, the UW Libraries (via the Data Services
team) is working to make sure our community’s
research data is:
 Cited
 Stored
 Catalogued
 Archived for preservation and future access

6. Data, data everywhere…
 Amounts of UW campus-produced data are
staggering…
 Privacy concerns and release
 Eventually other research can be done with existing
datasets.

7. Agency and UW Requirements
 Many agencies are requiring a data management
plan as part of their funded research. More will
follow.
 Information about Research Data from the UW
office of research,
http://www.washington.edu/research/osp/gim/gim
37.html, states the PI(s) are responsible for the
―collection, management and retention of research
data.‖ (It also includes a definition of ―research
data.‖)

8. What do I need to know?
 What do I need to know to tell my
students/faculty/researchers/staff?
 Refer folks to Stephanie or Jenny
 Email data services team: uwlib-data@uw.edu
 Link to UW Libraries Data Management Guide
(http://guides.lib.washington.edu/dmg) and Data Resources
LibGuide (http://guides.lib.washington.edu/data)
 ResearchWorks Data Services page:
http://researchworks.lib.washington.edu/rw-data.html

9. What do I need to know?
 Data Services Team can help:
 Help locate data needed for research
 Create a data management plan
 Locate resources to store/archive data at project’s end (local
systems, cloud, various online repositories, etc.)
 Connect folks on campus who might be able to help each other

10. Why do I need to know about data?
 ―Because data management is now a facet of
librarianship that has come to the forefront of our
profession,‖ says Kevin the Librarian, an NLM
librarian,
http://kevinthelibrarian.wordpress.com/2012/12/0
2/librarians-data-management-useful-resources-for-
learning-about-implementing-a-data-management-
resource-guide.
 We should all be aware of services UWL provides.

11. Why should patrons care?
 Likely to be an eventual requirement for nearly every
level of researcher.
 As recently stated in the journal Nature
(http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/article
s/10.1038/nj7427-145a), how often a researcher’s
data is cited is becoming an important career metric.
 Citing data helps with reputation management
 DMP inclusion is proactive
 New NSF guidelines allow for datasets to be included
as a research output when writing up a biographical
sketch for grant proposals.

12. How do I help my researchers?
 Answer their questions about data management –
just send them our way!
 Be proactive!
 Know that there are a LOT of tools out there to
support a data management plan for every level of
researcher, in every field of research.

13. How do I help my students?
 If students are requesting data for research, make
sure you include information on data citation.
 Also provide information on data management,
storage, archiving, etc.
 Again, just send them our way…

14. For further reading:
Available in the Data Services office in the Allen Library
(G86c):
 1) Numeric data services and sources for the general
reference librarian / Lynda M. Kellam with contribution
from Katharin Peter. Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2011.
 2) Digital curation : a how-to-do-it manual / Ross
Harvey. New York : Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2010.
 3) Managing research data / edited by Graham
Pryor. London : Facet Publishing, 2012.

15. ResearchWorks Data Services
 ―…when people have an information need, they’ll
always ask people they know before they ask a
librarian.
―The trick is making sure that librarians are some of
the people they know.‖
—Jessamyn West
 http://researchworks.lib.washington.edu/
rw-data.html