RDM Learning Resources
Research Data Management learning resources, including guides, workshops, and a glossary of terms
This page contains information on upcoming UCalgary Research Data Management (RDM) workshops and events, resources, and an RDM glossary of terms. This page will be updated regularly as new workshops and resources are created.
If you have questions about how to use RDM in your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.libanswers.com.
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Upcoming events | Illuminating RDM webinars | Online resources | Info session materials | RDM Glossary | RDM Communications Mailing List
Upcoming events
Next Illuminating RDM webinar: March 29
RDM in the Health Sciences
We’ll look at common types of data in these disciplines as well as discipline-specific tools and resources. Case examples will illustrate different approaches to data management in the health sciences.
Illuminating RDM Webinars
All materials from the Illuminating RDM webinar series will be compiled into Open Educational Resources and added to the UCalgary Libraries Digital Collection. UCalgary CAS Login is required to access recordings and slides in their entirety.
Visit the Illuminating RDM webpage to register for future webinars.
Research Data Management: What it is and why it matters
With funders and publishers increasingly implementing research data management (RDM) requirements, it’s crucial to think about what you’re doing with your research data, both during a research project and after it’s completed. This session will introduce you to the essentials of RDM, and provide you with tips and resources to help you effectively and consistently manage your data.
Presenter
Dr. Jennifer Abel is the Research Data Management Specialist in the Research Services Office. Prior to returning to UCalgary in 2021 after many years away, she worked as the RDM Training Coordinator for the Portage Network and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, as well as in a variety of other academic and related roles.
When you’re just starting to think about research data management, it may be difficult to see how it can actually fit into your own research projects. Learn from UCalgary researchers who are already implementing good RDM practices in their work, and how it makes a real difference in their projects.
Panelists:
- Dr. Fiona Clement, PhD, Department Head and Professor, Community Health Sciences
- Dr. Jenny Godley, PhD, Associate Professor, Sociology
- Dr. Roberto Medeiros de Souza, PhD, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Dr. Jason Wiens, PhD, Teaching Professor, English
DMP Assistant is a web-based Canadian tool for writing data management plans. In this session we’ll work through a case study example to create a DMP, and we’ll look at other real-life DMP examples.
Presenter
Heather Ganshorn is the Research Data Management Planning coordinator for Libraries and Cultural Resources at UCalgary. She is also the subject librarian for various disciplines in the sciences and health sciences.
PRISM Data is the University of Calgary’s institutional data repository, supported by Libraries and Cultural Resources. In this session we will discuss PRISM Data, benefits and limitations, preparing your data for sharing, and depositing datasets for longer term access. Attendees are welcome to bring along their datasets should they wish to create an account and start depositing data.
Presenter
Kathryn Ruddock (she/her) is Director, Digital Services at University of Calgary. Kathryn is passionate about creating access to unique digital collections through sustainable repositories. She works with faculty, staff and students creating digital collections for research, teaching and cultural heritage; and digital asset management.
This session will address the overlap between the ethical conduct of research with human participants and research data management practices. We will provide an overview of ethics-related standards relating to data management, and discuss practical strategies researchers should undertake to ensure human participant privacy and confidentiality is protected in data collection, analyses and storage.
Presenters
Dr. Stacey Page, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary and an Adjunct Professor, Alberta University of the Arts. She has close to 20 years of REB experience in varied roles - as a student, administrator, advisor, member, researcher and vice chair. She currently Chairs the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board at the University of Calgary, is a member of the Human Research Ethics Board, Mount Royal University as well as a member of the Research Ethics Board, Alberta University of the Arts.
Dr. Jenny Godley, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, at the University of Calgary. Trained as a quantitative sociologist, she uses demographic and social network analytic techniques to examine the processes which lead to and perpetuate social inequalities in health. She has been a member of the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB) since 2016. She is entering her second term as Chair of the CFREB, a role she has held since 2019.
In this session, Research Computing Services Director Abdel Yousif will give some concrete examples and scenarios on RDM during the active phase of a research project. The session will show the diversity of data and how it impacts the operational side of RDM.
Presenter
Abdel Yousif is the Director of Research Computing Services (RCS) at the University of Calgary. Yousif’s RCS team manages the local High-Performance Computing (HPC) and storage infrastructure for research, national infrastructure activity, and the secure compute platform for sensitive data. Prior to joining UCalgary, Yousif was a senior microprocessor design engineer at Intel and managed big data analytics at Shaw Communications.
Research Computing Services Director Abdel Yousif shows the correlation of RDM data management plans (DMPs) and how a research data pipeline is designed. The session focuses on research software and how it is integrated into the RDM operations and the use of the research infrastructure.
Presenter
Abdel Yousif is the Director of Research Computing Services (RCS) at the University of Calgary. Yousif’s RCS team manages the local High-Performance Computing (HPC) and storage infrastructure for research, national infrastructure activity, and the secure compute platform for sensitive data. Prior to joining UCalgary, Yousif was a senior microprocessor design engineer at Intel and managed big data analytics at Shaw Communications.
Open government data refers to data collected and managed by government agencies that is made freely available to the public. In this session, we’ll discuss finding and using this type of data for all levels of government, and considerations for including it within your data management plan.
Presenters
Paul R. Pival is currently Research Librarian for Data Analytics and Liaison Librarian for Economics. He predominantly works with qualitative data within the Spatial and Numeric Data Services unit within Libraries and Cultural Resources, and is the institutional contact for the Statistics Canada Data Liberation Initiative.
Heather Ganshorn is the Research Data Management Planning coordinator for Libraries and Cultural Resources at UCalgary. She is also the subject librarian for various disciplines in the sciences and health sciences.
Previous webinars in this series have provided overviews of Research Data Management (RDM) and data management plans (DMPs). This session will focus on information specific to social sciences and humanities. We’ll look at common types of data in these disciplines as well as discipline-specific tools and resources. Case examples will illustrate different approaches to data management in the humanities and social sciences.
Presenters
Jerremie Clyde is a Research and Learning Librarian with Libraries and Cultural Resources. He supports Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science researchers and students in a wide range of areas, from archaeology to computer science.
Heather Ganshorn is the Research Data Management Planning coordinator for Libraries and Cultural Resources at UCalgary. She is also the subject librarian for various disciplines in the sciences and health sciences.
Previous webinars in this series have provided overviews of Research Data Management (RDM) and data management plans (DMPs). This session will focus on information specific to natural sciences and engineering. We’ll look at common types of data in these disciplines as well as discipline-specific tools and resources. Case examples will illustrate different approaches to data management in the natural sciences and engineering.
Presenters
James Murphy is the STEM and Architecture Librarian at the University of Calgary. He holds a Masters of Library and Information Studies from the University of British Columbia.
Heather Ganshorn is the Research Data Management Planning coordinator for Libraries and Cultural Resources at UCalgary. She is also the subject librarian for various disciplines in the sciences and health sciences.
Online resources
LCR Research Guide
This LCR Research Guide for Research Data Management offers supports for RDM, learning materials, and best practices and tools to support management of your research data.
Tri-Agency RDM Policy FAQ
The Tri-Agency RDM Policy FAQ offers information on both the policy and foundational RDM principles.
Info session materials
Miss out on an RDM info session? Slide decks and materials from previous sessions are below. Materials will be moved into archive when content is no longer up-to-date.
RDM Glossary
Data
Data are facts, measurements, recordings, records, or observations collected by researchers and others, with a minimum of contextual interpretation. Data may be in any format or medium taking the form of text, numbers, symbols, images, films, video, sound recordings, pictorial reproductions, drawings, designs or other graphical representations, procedural manuals, forms, diagrams, workflows, equipment descriptions, data files, data processing algorithms, software, programming languages, code, or statistical records.
Source: Frequently Asked Questions
Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy
Research data
Research data are data that are used as primary sources to support technical or scientific enquiry, research, scholarship, or creative practice, and that are used as evidence in the research process and/or are commonly accepted in the research community as necessary to validate research findings and results. Research data may be experimental data, observational data, operational data, third party data, public sector data, monitoring data, processed data, or repurposed data. What is considered relevant research data is often highly contextual, and determining what counts as such should be guided by disciplinary norms.
Source: Frequently Asked Questions
Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy
Institutional RDM strategy
An institutional RDM strategy describes how the institution will provide its researchers with an environment that enables and supports RDM practices. Developing these strategies will help research institutions identify and address gaps and challenges in infrastructure, resources and practices related to RDM.
Each strategy should reflect the institution’s particular circumstances, including the institution’s size and capacity, geography, and other contextual factors. The strategy would likely require input from various institutional units such as the administrative research office, the research ethics board, library services, IT services, and departments and faculties.
Source: Frequently Asked Questions
Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy
Data management plan
A data management plan (DMP) is a living document, typically associated with an individual research project or program that consists of the practices, processes and strategies that pertain to a set of specified topics related to data management and curation. DMPs should be modified throughout the course of a research project to reflect changes in project design, methods, or other considerations.
DMPs guide researchers in articulating their plans for managing data; they do not necessarily compel researchers to manage data differently.
Source: Frequently Asked Questions
Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy
Data deposit
“Data deposit” refers to when the research data collected as part of a research project are transferred to a research data repository. The repository should have easily accessible policies describing deposit and user licenses, access control, preservation procedures, storage and backup practices, and sustainability and succession plans. The deposit of research data into appropriate repositories supports ongoing data-retention and, where appropriate, access to the data.
Ideally, data deposits will include accompanying documentation, source code, software, metadata, and any supplementary materials that provide additional information about the data, including the context in which it was collected and used to inform the research project. This additional information facilitates curation, discoverability, accessibility and reuse of the data.
Source: Frequently Asked Questions
Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy
RDM Communications
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