Data Management Workshops

The Research Data Service offers a wide variety of workshops upon request for classes, labs, and research groups. Most workshops can be adjusted to run for 45 to 90 minutes to fit your schedule.

Please contact us to discuss scheduling.

What if I want help right now?

If you want to get started right away, or just prefer to work at your own pace, check out our Self-Guided Workshop option.

How do I get help with data analysis?

For workshops and consultations on analyzing data, please see the Data Analytics team at the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning.

Can I request a special topic?

Absolutely. We are happy to provide specialized workshops or consultations based on your group’s data management needs.

Workshop Descriptions

Research Data Fundamentals

Geared towards graduate students, new researchers, or those who just want a refresher, this workshop covers fundamental principles of data management throughout the research lifecycle. Attendees will come away with an understanding of key data management responsibilities at all stages of research from planning through publication and preservation.

Better Data Management

Data management is like eating your vegetables or getting enough exercise. Even though we know it’s good for us, most of us still need reminders to stay motivated. This workshop identifies common data management pitfalls throughout the research lifecycle and provides practical tools and tips that promote healthy data habits.

Better Data Management Planning

Do you dread writing data management plans for your grant proposals? Would you like to write a data management plan that you actually want to use? This workshop clarifies the planning process, starting with how federal funders define data. Attendees will come away with practical tools, templates, and strategies for crafting a realistic, meaningful plan that satisfies common funder requirements.

NIH Data Management and Sharing Plans

In 2023 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) instituted new data management and sharing requirements to increase transparency and accelerate scientific discovery. If you are applying for NIH funding, learn what these requirements mean for you. This workshop covers how NIH defines research data, what data to share and when, how to draft a Data Management and Sharing Plan, and the support resources available to help you along the way.

Publishing Data in the Illinois Data Bank

Get to know the Illinois Data Bank, the open access data repository serving the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Does your funder or publisher require data sharing? Are you interested in data sharing to promote transparency, reproducibility, and open science? The Illinois Data Bank provides no-cost data publication for faculty, staff, and graduate students. Learn about our user-friendly platform, curation services, preservation policies, impact tracking, and on-campus support team.

Practical Data Curation

Geared towards information science graduate students, this hands-on exercise explores the realities of data curation using a real draft dataset that was submitted to the Illinois Data Bank repository. Attendees will work together to comb through the data and supporting metadata for common data curation issues such as missing data, inconsistent values, and contradictory or unclear documentation. This workshop also covers the data curation workflow for the Illinois Data Bank and how curators communicate with depositors to promote positive, lasting relationships.

Declutter Your Data Files

Tired of not being able to find a file when you need it? Getting lost in a sea of slightly different versions? Not sure which data is which? This workshop offers practical tips for organizing your data files with directory structures, file naming conventions, version tracking, and data documentation. No judgement here. This workshop is just about helping you address the mess.

How to Find Quality Data

With so many datasets available online, how do you find the data you need for your research or class project? Once you find a dataset on the right topic, how can you tell if it’s high quality? This workshop introduces best practices for finding and using data. We’ll cover search strategies, how to assess data quality, and how to reuse data responsibly. Attendees will leave with practical advice and helpful tools that demystify the search for quality data.

Intro to Data Papers

If you work with data, you know it takes a ton of knowledge, skill, and effort. Did you know you could turn that hard work into a publication? Data papers are scholarly articles that provide detailed context about a dataset and promote its reuse. A data paper can also be a great way to give your research assistants an opportunity for authorship. In this workshop, you’ll learn what data papers are, how to write one, and where to publish one.