Research Data Services
UD Library, Museums and Press staff members, along with partners from the Research Office, and UDIT Research Cyberinfrastructure staff, provide a suite of research data tools and services to the UD community to support UD’s research mission and to ensure continued success for UD Researchers. Through these partnerships, we can support researchers through the entire research lifecycle.
Data Services at UD
The suite of data services available to UD Researchers are numerous. Therefore, we have created this tool, the Data Services Directory, to help you locate the right data service for your needs. Simply select a service type and a topic, then submit. If you are still unable to find the service you need, then please reach out to us directly.
Support for Grant-Funded Research
Grant proposals may require information about university research services or a Data Management Plan (DMP). UD Research Data Services staff can help by recommending formats and templates, training researchers to use the DMPTool and reviewing plans to ensure all required components are addressed. To include our services in a proposal, submit a support request to discuss expectations. General guidance on referencing library services is available on the library’s Collaborating on a Grant Proposal webpage.
You may wish to include Research Data Services in general as a university-provided resource. If that is the case, we recommend a discussion with our team. However, the following verbiage may be sufficient:
- University of Delaware Research Data Services (RDS) is a cross-campus collaboration between data service providers. RDS experts provide guidance for researchers of all levels about the collection, description, analysis, visualization, storage, sharing, and preservation of research data. Through training, researcher support, and partnerships with campus collaborators, RDS aims to promote a culture of research data management best practices that will enhance the visibility, rigor, and reach of research at the University of Delaware.
UD Research Data Services is unable to directly engage with researcher datasets. Unfortunately we do not have the capacity to clean, curate, and steward datasets across the UD research enterprise. It is our intention to provide the support and training to make decisions about your research data and become good stewards.
Research Data Steering Group:
Research Data Services are provided via collaboration between the UD Library, Museums and Press, the Research Office and UD IT Research Cyberinfrastructure. This collaboration happens though a collaborative committee called the Research Data Steering Group. This steering group has been instrumental in collating, coordinating and delivering data services since 2019. The steering group is made up of the following members:
Areas of Expertise: Agent-Based Modeling, Data Analysis, Data Management, Data Visualization, Geographic Information Systems
- Data cleaning, storage, preservation and sharing
- Data Management Plans and the DMPTool
Areas of Expertise: Computational Text Analysis, Data Curation, Data Retrieval and Web Scraping, Digital Mapping / GIS, Network Analysis, Transformation, Visualization
- Support for quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods
- Support for visualization best practices and computational tools for visualization
- High performance computing and research storage consulting
- Secure data storage and compliance consulting
- Assist with UD’s Science DMZ and National Computing Partnerships
Areas of Expertise: Agriculture & Natural Sciences, Animal & Food Sciences, Applied Economics and Statistics, Entomology & Wildlife Ecology, Marine Science & Policy, Materials Science & Engineering, Plant & Soil Sciences, Scholarly Communications
- Advise on research data management best practices
- Advise on DMPTool for data management planning
- Assist with questions relating to data repositories
- Research Office liaison
- Works with the RDSG to communicate updates and services to campus
Research and Engagement
Areas of Expertise: Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Computer & Information Sciences, Data Management, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Energy, Environment, Mathematical Sciences, Mechanical Engineering
- Advise on research data management best practices
- Assist with questions relating to data repositories
Areas of Expertise: German Language
- Consultations on and assistance with metadata and documentation
- Consultations and workshops on data cleaning
- Consultations on data transformation, crosswalking and migration
Research and Engagement
Areas of Expertise: African Studies, Asian Studies, Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, Delaware History, Ethnic Studies, European Studies, Global Studies, Government Documents, History, Islamic Studies, Legal Studies, Material Culture, Museum Studies, Political Science & International Relations
- Help identify subject-specific data repositories in the social sciences and humanities
- Support for locating and understanding government data
Areas of Expertise: Astronomy, Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry, Data Management, Earth Sciences, Geography, Physics & Astronomy
- Support for geospatial data
- Support for data literacy
Research and Engagement
Areas of Expertise: Anthropology, Criminal Justice, Psychological & Brain Sciences, Research Funding, Sociology, Women & Gender Studies
- Consultation on identifying subject-specific data repositories and navigating the social science data landscape
- Assistance with locating research funding