Training for Researchers and Students

The library offers free drop-in workshops on data management best practices periodically throughout the year. More information about these workshops is given below. See the list of workshops to register for the next available session(s) or view recorded sessions below.

Data Management Bootcamps

Registration is now available for the winter 2019 boot camp on Thursday, January 17th. Thanks to the Libraries, LATIS, the Graduate School, OVPR, and the Informatics Institute for sponsoring.

We offer in-depth training twice a year to learn data management skills and apply them to your projects. Staff from the University Libraries, LATIS, IT, and other experts around campus will share tools and best practices for wrangling all the stuff that comes out of a research project, saving time and effort for you and your collaborators.

The day-long camp is designed for graduate students and new researchers who will be managing a research project for the first time. You will leave with long-term strategies to organize your project, actionable steps that you can put into practice right away, and input from experts and your peers.

Online Data Management Course

Online Version Freely Available

This course combines online video lessons and hands-on workshops throughout the semester. The Data Management Course was part of an IMLS grant-funded project and designed for graduate students currently enrolled at the UMN. The training modules are freely available for anyone to view and download. Modules include:

1. Introduction to Data Management (5 min)
2. How to Inventory, Store, and Backup Your Data (4 min)
3. How to Create Data that You (and Others) can Understand (5 min 30 sec)
4. How to Navigate Rights and Ownership of your Research Data (9 min)
5. How to Share Your Data and Ethically Reuse Data Created by Others (4 min 30 sec)
6. How to Digitally Preserve Your Data for the Future (5 min 30 sec)
7. Complete Your DMP (5 min)

Creating a Data Management Plan

This workshop, geared toward faculty and researchers, will provide an overview of the questions to consider when creating a data management plan with a focus on data preservation issues and tools for sharing your data. This workshop is discussion-based and works through each of the data management topics via group and paired activities.

Request a Session

This library workshop is offered periodically throughout the year as a 1.5 hour session. If you are interested in scheduling a session for your department or research group, please contact instructor Lisa Johnston.

Workshop Materials

Watch a recording of this session from January 8, 2014 at the UMN Office of Nursing Scholarship meeting.
Related handouts:

• Data Management Checklist (two-page pdf)
• NSF Data Management Plan FAQs

How to Share Your Data

Learn about the access conditions, licenses, and ownerership and copyright considerations for sharing your digital research data. 

Watch a Slideshow 

Data Management for Graduate Students

Establishing a foundation of good data management practices early in a researcher’s career is critical to shaping long-term habits. This workshop focuses on graduate students and discusses best practices through relevant disciplinary examples.

Workshop Materials

Watch a recording of this session from our August 22, 2012 session.

Additional Training Opportunities on Campus

There are numerous additional opportunities around campus that provide training related to data management. The following links provide more information, where interested:

• The Office of Information Technology (OIT) hosts several technology training workshops
• The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) hosts several online tutorials covering a variety of topics, including:
  • Quantitative Data Management
  • Qualitative Data Management
  • Conflict of Interest
  • Fiscal Responsibility
  • HIPAA data security policies and training, through the Health Information Privacy and Compliance Office
• Minnesota Supercomputing Institute (MSI) hosts ongoing recorded workshops and training