Introduction
As research moves more and more into the digital realm, creating and maintaining a data management plan (DMP) for research data management (RDM) is now mandatory or highly recommended by many of the funding agencies and foundations. A DMP is a written document that describes the data you expect to acquire or generate during the course of a research project, how you will manage, describe, analyze, and store those data, and what mechanisms you will use at the end of your project to share and preserve your data. RDM is also no longer a STEM/STEAM issue as activities in the Digital Humanities and non-STEM domains are increasingly reliant on technology. This site features the services and resources available from the OU Libraries and campus organizations to help with information, tools, and workflows for dealing with DMPs and RDM.
Additional help can be found by contacting your library specialist, the research data specialist, or the Digital Scholarship and Data Services contact form.
Resources for Research Data and Data Management at OU Libraries
​Contact the Research Data Specialist for guidance to start planning your Data Management Plan (DMP), funding policies as they relate to DMPs for various domains/subjects, and a list of possible data repositories for housing your research data.
Workshops targeted to researchers of all levels (students, postdocs, faculty, and staff) to increase working efficiency with understanding of research and data better practices.
Your personal, persistent, and unique digital identifier.
Information about Software and Data Carpentry workshops, collaborations, and instructor training available on the Norman campus.
Registering your digital assets/datasets for a citable reference.
Researchers and authors are encouraged to consult with the Research Data Specialist early in the data management planning phase in order to take advantage of their expertise and recommendations for data management tools and help identify an appropriate appropriate data repository.
Data Services Open Office Hours
during one of their two open office hour sessions. No need for an appointment, just drop by and and get your questions answered.
in Bizzell Memorial Library and on Zoom
Hours
Mondays, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Thursdays, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Fridays, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Offices and Centers at OU
Office of the Vice President for Research
The Vice President for Research, Norman Campus (including Norman Campus Programs at OU-Tulsa), is responsible for the development and dissemination of official policies in the research and creative activity arena, as well as the facilitation of faculty, student and staff scholarship in all disciplines represented on the Norman Campus.
Office of Research Services
The mission of the Office of Research Services is to provide high-quality information services to the OU community regarding internal and external funding opportunities, workshops and training, and to provide policy and procedural information regarding proposal submission and grant administration.
- To provide assistance with the internal routing process authorizing submission of proposals to external funding agencies for faculty, staff, and students as related to sponsored programs.
- To review, negotiate, and accept all contractual agreements and subcontracts related to sponsored programs research
- To provide contractual, financial and administrative support to faculty, staff, administration, awarding agencies and external and internal auditors, as related to sponsored programs for research, instruction and other institutional activities.
Better & Best Practices
How to create a README.txt (Codebook)
README.txt files, sometimes referred to as codebooks, provide the necessary information, or metadata, needed to make digital assets (numerical data, photographs, spread sheets, movies, etc.) add value and make working with these data easier and more accessible to others.
Tools and Software for RDM
DMPTool
The DMPTool helps researchers create data management plans (DMPs). It provides guidance from specific funders who require DMPs, but the tool can be used by anyone interested in developing generic DMPs to help facilitate their research. Log in with your OUNetID.
Zotero
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources, especially PDFs . Check out the OU Libraries Bibliographic Software services page for more details.
Open Science Framework
The OSF supports the entire research lifecycle: planning, execution, reporting, archiving, and discovery. It provides project management with collaborators, and project sharing with the public. The OSF is maintained by the non-profit Center for Open Science.