Data Literacy Series

Gather round, fellow researchers. AI has become a valuable research companion, and it’s here to stay. But even good companions can lead you astray. What follows is no fiction: this issue features three true AI horror tales that made the news, of vanished work, phantom sources, and a creature that crept past peer review. Read them by candlelight, and take away the lesson each one teaches about using AI in research, so you won’t be the one haunted next.

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AI models don’t read words or interpret images the way humans do. They process input and output in small units called tokens, the fundamental currency of AI computation and the building blocks of AI communication. Tokenomics provides a framework for measuring and managing these costs, shaping research budgets and resource allocation. This month, we unpack this framework and share practical ways to keep costs less unpredictable.

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The recently launched Foundational Data Literacy Tutorial, “What Are Data and the Research Process?”, co-developed by the UCSB Library’s Teaching & Learning and Research Data Services departments, provides an accessible introduction to key concepts and terminology. Designed for lower-division students, this tutorial helps bridge the transition from high school to college by building a foundation for understanding data and research and engaging more confidently with data-related coursework.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is a field of research and a class of technologies that enable systems to perform tasks requiring human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing patterns, reasoning, and learning from data. As AI evolves, so does its terminology. This handout clarifies key AI terms and highlights AI resources available on campus for research and learning.

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Publicly available user-generated content (UGC), such as social media posts, comments, and forum threads, is often assumed to be freely accessible and reusable, but that assumption warrants closer scrutiny. Although UGC-based research is frequently exempt from Institutional Review Board (IRB) review, important gray areas remain regarding data handling, reuse, and redistribution, which require careful ethical and legal considerations.

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Data embargoes add a timed lock to your deposited data—visible and discoverable, but not downloadable until the embargo ends. They can help protect competitive advantage and support legal and ethical compliance. Learn key considerations and how recent federal policy shifts have significantly shortened allowable embargo periods for federally funded research.

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Code and scripts are vital yet historically undercited research outputs. Citing them acknowledges creators, supports reproducibility, and ensures proper credit. Developers are encouraged to include a CITATION.cff file in their code repositories to guide proper attribution.

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Data journals are scholarly outlets that disseminate research datasets through data papers rather than traditional
analytical articles. These papers describe the context, methods, structure, quality controls, and potential for
reuse of a dataset. As formal, citable research outputs, data papers recognize datasets as scholarly contributions,
enabling academic credit, increasing visibility, and supporting broader reuse within the research community.

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Machine Learning (ML) models are mathematical representations learned from data that enable machines to make predictions, classifications, or decisions. Without proper documentation, they function as opaque black boxes. In a fast-moving research landscape, model cards help ground innovation in clarity and trust. Think of them as READMEs for models with rich metadata that make ML models easier to discover, evaluate, reproduce, and share. 

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Data literacy provides the foundation: the ability to read, understand, and interpret data. Data fluency goes a step further, equipping researchers with practical skills to use data effectively, working with tools, extracting insights, asking the right questions, and communicating findings clearly. Learn which campus resources are available to support your journey from literacy to fluency.

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