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Data Management and Open Data

This guide provides best practices and resources for getting started with managing and sharing research data.

What Is Open Data?

Open data, sometimes referred to as data sharing or data collaboration, is a philosophy that data produced as part of your research ought to be freely shared within certain limitations, such as privacy.

Why Is Open Data Important?

Sharing data is important for several reasons:

  • It streamlines research. Instead of spending time recreating datasets to test hypotheses or models, researchers can use pre-existing data.
  • It enhances cumulative research. In cumulative research, progress is made by expanding on prior research. By providing full access to your data as well as your published results and conclusions, you make it easier for other researchers to expand on your work.
  • It enhances transparency of your research. By sharing your data, other researchers are able to more clearly comprehend your methodologies and conclusions. They can replicate your analyses using the same data or compare your data with other datasets.

 

Open Data Sources

  • ADAMS - Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    Best Bet
    ADAMS provides a collection of publicly available documents produced by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ADAMS provides access to the Publicly Available Records System (PARS) as well as the Public Legacy Library. ADAMS documents are provided in either Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) or Tagged Image File Format (TIFF).
  • ChemDB
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    Best Bet
    A public database of small molecules and related chemoinformatics resources with data from over 150 electronic chemical vendor catalogs and some publicly available data sets.
  • ClinicalTrials.gov
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    Best Bet
    ClinicalTrials.gov is a Web-based resource that provides patients, their family members, health care professionals, researchers, and the public with easy access to information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies on a wide range of diseases and conditions. The Web site is maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
  • EMIS - European Mathematical Information Service
    • Mostly free or Open Access. Some content may be paywalled or restricted to Illinois Tech
    Best Bet
    Portal to a number of excellent resources in mathematics including free literature databases such as Zentralblatt MATH and the Electronic Library of Mathematics.
  • Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    Best Bet
    Search FHWA technical reports and publications, as well as highway data and statistics from Federal, State, and local partners.

Additional Resources

  • Data Curation Network
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    The Data Curation Network is a membership organization of data repositories and data professionals based at the University of Minnesota. While aimed primarily at data professionals, they have a number of resources for researchers as well, including best practices for preparing data for sharing and online workshops and educational modules.
  • Data Resources at Data..gov
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    Resources.data.gov is an online repository of policies, standards, tools, case studies, and other resources to support data governance, management, exchange, and use.
  • NIH Scientific Data Sharing
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    This NIH website offers extensive information on the NIH's data sharing and data management policies.
  • NIST Research Data Framework (RDaF)
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    The Research Data Framework (RDaF) is a structured approach to managing research data developed by the NIST. As of early 2023, the document is in a preliminary state f development. The website linked here contains information on NIST's project, presentations, links to the documents, and guides on how to become involved.
  • Open Data Handbook
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    The Open Data Handbook provides useful guides, case studies, and other resources to help researchers better understand open data and data management.
  • Retraction Watch
    • Free to search. Full-text content likely to be paywalled or restricted to Illinois Tech
    Best Bet
    Retraction watch is a searchable database of research papers that have been retracted due to ethical issues, such as plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of research results, or unauthorized release or publication of data. Because of these problems, retraced papers should not be cited or used in your own research.
  • Sherpa Juliet
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    Best Bet
    Sherpa Juliet is a searchable database of funding agencies' policies regarding open access, publication, and data management / data sharing. This is particularly useful for researchers looking for up-to-date information regarding open access mandates from their funders.
  • Sherpa Romeo
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    Best Bet
    Sherpa Romeo is a searchable database of publishers' policies regarding open access, copyright, and permissions. This is particularly useful to researchers checking to see how their go-to journals comply with open access mandates from their funders or for seeking out alternative journals that better support funders' mandates.
  • SPARC* Article and Data Sharing Requirements by Federal Agency database
    • Free or Open Access Resource. Unrestricted public access.
    This is a searchable database for tracking, comparing, and understanding both current and future U.S. federal funder requirements for sharing research articles and research data.