A Case Study for Organizing and Documenting Research Data

The University of Iowa Libraries, like many other academic libraries, is dedicated to the development of research data services. From 2012 to 2014, we ran an environmental scan on campus data management resources that assessed research data needs and identified gaps in existing research data services. Based on the outcomes of the environmental scan and assessment, we formed a working group to create a guide for researchers and campus service providers on data management resources in August 2014. To explore good practices in research data services and establish a long-term partnership with researchers, faculty, and students, two subject specialist librarians from the group started a case study for organizing and documenting research data.

In consideration of the researcher’s specific data generation, collection, and analysis methods, we developed a data organization scheme based on the ISA-Tab metadata standard and applied it as the data was migrated to secure storage. As a result, the organized data is not only more accessible to the researcher, her students, and collaborators but also easily understood by newcomers to their laboratory.