A monthly series of infographics on research data
Published by the Library's Research Data Services (RDS) department, the Data Literacy Series (DLS) are visually-compelling one-page handouts that break down complex and important data-related topics. DLS complement the RDS's instructional efforts and mission to promote data education and research data management practices. The handouts are distributed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. If you’d like to suggest a topic for an upcoming issue, please submit your feedback to rds@library.ucsb.edu.
Sign up for our Data Literacy Series and receive the infographics straight to your inbox!
Search the DLS handouts:
Reproducible Experiments with Protocols.io
Are you conducting experimental research? Does your lab need a better way to manage and collaborate on detailed experiment documentation? UCSB researchers have free premium access to Protocols.io for creating, sharing, and managing detailed protocols. Enhance the transparency, reproducibility, and efficiency of your research by leveraging this powerful tool!
PDF - ALTTAGS: Documentation, Metadata, Methods, Reproducibility
DATE: 11-2024
It's is not Secret Witchcraft, it's Quarto!
Imagine a magical toolbox for researchers, where every tool is designed to make your findings sparkle! Enter Quarto: a dynamic, open-source publishing system that transforms how you report your research. With Quarto, you can seamlessly blend text, code, citations, and visuals. Whether you’re whipping up a report, crafting a presentation, or sharing your results online, Quarto ensures your work is reproducible and easy to follow—no dark secrets required!
PDF - ALTTAGS: Data Publishing, Open Science, Reproducibility
DATE: 10-2024
GitHubbing for Open Research
GitHub repositories serve as vital platforms in today’s computational research, allowing scientists to store and share their project code. Although these repositories weren't specifically designed for data storage and preservation, their collaborative features and version control capabilities significantly aid project workflows. To boost their long-term value, we recommend the following best practices.
PDF - ALTTAGS: Code Documentation, Code Sharing, Dependency Management, GitHub, Reproducibility, Version Control
DATE: 09-2024
Excelling with Spreadsheets
Storing data in tabular form is a common practice for managing information. Explore essential tips for organizing spreadsheets to ensure your data is easily accessible and usable by both people and machines.
PDF - ALTTAGS: Data Organization, File Organization, Tabular Data
DATE: 08-2024
Qualitative Data Sharing Essentials
Wondering what to share at the end of your qualitative data project? Effective sharing goes beyond archiving; it must preserve the contextual value of the data for future use. Here’s a checklist of critical data files and supporting documents, along with file organization tips and repository options.
PDF - ALTTAGS: Data Repository, Data Sharing, File Organization, Qualitative Data
DATE: 07-2024
Cracking the Coding for Qualitative Data
Qualitative coding is the systematic process of categorizing and segmenting textual or visual content into meaningful analytical units to identify patterns and themes within the data. This handout compares deductive and inductive approaches to qualitative coding and highlights campus-licensed and supported tools to aid in this process.
PDF - ALTTAGS: Data Analysis, Data Tools, Qualitative Data
DATE: 06-2024
Sanitizing Sensitive Information from Textual Data
De-identifying text with human participant data is challenging due to its unstructured and sensitive nature, requiring careful measures for safe and ethical sharing. Here are eight essential steps to minimize re-identification risks while preserving reusability.
PDF - ALTTAGS: Data Ethics, De-Identification, Qualitative Data, Sensitive Data
DATE: 05-2024
Securing Consent for Data Sharing & Reuse
The informed consent process is a central component of the ethical conduct of research with human subjects overseen by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). Crafting compliant consent forms with permissive language broadens the shareability and usability of research data. Incorporating considerations for data sharing and potential reuse into the informed consent process is crucial to preempt future complications and adverse outcomes, all while meeting funders' and publishers' increasing data sharing requirements.
PDF - ALTTAGS: Consent Forms, Data Ethics, Data Sharing, Data Reuse, Human Subject Research, Informed Consent
DATE: 04-2024
The Intricacies of Managing Qualitative Data from Human Subject Research
Qualitative data is inherently nuanced and deeply contextual. While it offers rich interpretive possibilities, its analysis and presentation often demand considerable resources. Moreover, due to its sensitivity, managing qualitative research data obtained from human subjects—such as interviews and observations— poses distinct ethical challenges. This handout delineates key considerations, practical tips, and available resources for effectively handling this data type across its lifecycle.
PDF - ALTTAGS: Data Management, Data Sharing, Data Ethics, Qualitative Data, Human Subjects, Sensitive Data
DATE: 03-2024
Crafting Effective Data Availability Statements
Many scientific journals require authors to provide a data availability statement (DAS) to adhere to openness and transparency principles. The DAS specifies how and where the underlying data used in a study can be accessed and the terms under which they can be obtained. We cover best practicves for writing such statements in compliance with policy requirements.
PDF - ALT