All Learning Resources

  • Escaping Datageddon

    Slide share presentation of information presented to university graduate students on the importance of data management presented as part of the University of Wisconsin, Madison Graduate Support Services.

  • GES DISC Data Cookbook

    A collection of tutorials, called "data recipes" that describe how to use Earth science data from the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) using easily available tools and commonly used formats for Earth science data such as NetCDF, ASCII, HDF-5, and shapefile.  These tutorials are available to assist those wishing to learn or teach how to obtain and view these data. 

  • Reverb Data Access Cookbook

    A collection of tutorials, called "data recipes" that describe how to access Earth science data from the Earth Observing Clearing House (ECHO) such as MODIS, NRT, ASTER and MERIS data.  These tutorials are available to assist those wishing to learn or teach how to access and order these data.  Links are provided to User Support if the data desired are not available from this collection.

  • Preparing Your Data Management Plan

    Grant proposals for a growing number of funders require data management plans, including the National Science Foundation. Developing a competitive data management plan requires understanding and effectively addressing the many aspects of research data management that funders and reviewers emphasize (e.g., plans for research data security, sharing, and documentation). Join Data Management Services for a training session on preparing data management plans. During this one-hour workshop, we will cover the research data questions one should answer in creating an effective, competitive plan. Participants will have an opportunity to ask data management and planning questions specific to their research.

  • USGS Data Management Training Modules – the Value of Data Management

    This is one of six interactive modules created to help researchers, data stewards, managers and the public gain an understanding of the value of data management in science and provide best practices to perform good data management within their organization. In this module, you will learn how to: 1. Describe the various roles and responsibilities of data management. 2. Explain how data management relates to everyday work and the greater good. 3. Motivate (with examples) why data management is valuable. These basic lessons will provide the foundation for understanding why good data management is worth pursuing.

  • USGS Data Management Training Modules – Planning for Data Management

    This is one of six interactive modules created to help researchers, data stewards, managers and the public gain an understanding of the value of data management in science and provide best practices to perform good data management within their organization. In this module, we will provide an overview of data management plans. First, we will define and describe Data Management Plans, or DMPs. We will then explain the benefits of creating a DMP. Finally, we will provide instructions on how to prepare a DMP, including covering key components common to most DMPs.

  • USGS Data Management Training Modules – Best Practices for Preparing Science Data to Share

    This is one of six interactive modules created to help researchers, data stewards, managers and the public gain an understanding of the value of data management in science and provide best practices to perform good data management within their organization. In this module, you’ll learn:

    The importance of maintaining well-managed science data
    Nine fundamental practices scientists should implement when preparing data to share
    Associated best practices for each data management habit

  • USGS Data Management Training Modules – Science Data Lifecycle

    This is one of six interactive modules created to help researchers, data stewards, managers and the public gain an understanding of the value of data management in science and provide best practices to perform good data management within their organization. By the end of this module, you should be able to answer the following questions…  What is a science data lifecycle?  Why is a science data lifecycle important and useful?  What are the elements of the USGS science data lifecycle, and how are they connected?  What are the difference roles and responsibilities?  Where do you go if you need more information?

  • USGS Data Management Training Modules – Planning for Data Management Part II

    This is one of six interactive modules created to help researchers, data stewards, managers and the public gain an understanding of the value of data management in science and provide best practices to perform good data management within their organization. By the end of this course you should know the difference between data management plans and project plans; you should know how to use the DMPTool to create a data management plan; and you should understand the basic information that should go into a data management plan.

  • Introduction to the ISO 19115-2 Metadata Standard - DISL Data Management Metadata Training Webinar Series - Part 2

    Begins with a brief overview of how the components of the ISO 19115-2 metadata standard are organized, followed by an example completed metadata record. Overview of how to use NOAA NCEI's ISO workbooks and EDM Wiki as resources for writing ISO metadata. The video is 34 minutes. 

  • Open Principles in Education - Building Bridges, Empowering Communities

    This presentation shared experiences from “Geo for All” initiative on the importance of having open principles in education for empowering communities worldwide . Central to “Geo for All” mission is the belief that knowledge is a public good and Open Principles in Education will provide great opportunities for everyone.  By combining the potential of free and open  software, open data, open standards, open access to research publications, open education resources in Geospatial education and research will enable the creation of sustainable innovation ecosystem . This is key for widening  education opportunities, accelerating new discoveries and helping solving global cross disciplinary societal challenges from Climate change mitigation to sustainable cities. Service for the benefit and betterment of humanity is a key fundamental principle of “Geo for All” and we want to contribute and focus our efforts for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We aim to create openness in Geo Education for developing creative and open minds in students which is critical for building open innovation and contributes to building up Open Knowledge for the benefit of the whole society and for our future generations. The bigger aim is to advance STEM education across the world and bring together schools, teachers and students across the world in joint projects and help building international understanding and global peace.

  • ISRIC - World Soil Information Educational Videos

    YouTube Channel of videos on various topics related to world soils data creation and management.  Example categories of videos include Digital Soil Mapping; Screencast:  How to use ISRIC's Soil Data Hub; Sustainable Soil Managment; and Global Soil Information Facilities.  

  • Environmental Data Management Best Practices Part 1: Tabular Data

    This webinar is the first in a two-part webinar focused on Environmental Data Management Best Practices.  The topic of this webinar is tabular data, and is one of a series of educational workshops focused on best practices for and tips to best manage environmental research data presented by experts from the NASA's Distributed Active Archive Center for Biogeochemical Dynamics.  

  • Environmental Data Management Best Practices Part 2: Geospatial Data

    This webinar is the second in a two-part webinar focused on Environmental Data Management Best Practices.  The topic of this webinar is geospatial data, and is one of a series of educational workshops focused on best practices for and tips to best manage environmental research data presented by experts from the NASA's Distributed Active Archive Center for Biogeochemical Dynamics.  

  • Mozilla Science Lab's Open Data Primers

  • GeoMapApp Education Resources

    From this home page, a variety of GeoMapApp-related education activities and resources is available. The educational materials target audiences ranging from middle school and high school level to the undergraduate and graduate level.  Resources available include, for example:  mini lessons, GeoMapApp learning activities, data exercises and tutorials.  

    GeoMapApp is an earth science exploration and visualization application that is continually being expanded as part of the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS) at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. The application provides direct access to the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) compilation that hosts high resolution (~100 m node spacing) bathymetry from multibeam data for ocean areas and ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) and NED (National Elevation Dataset) topography datasets for the global land masses.  

  • GeoMapApp Learning Activities Collection

    GeoMapApp Learning Activities are web-based, high-impact, ready-to-use learning modules. They are aimed at the K-12, community college and introductory university level. Each learning activity provides hands-on participation that allows students to enhance their learning experience through the exploration of geoscience data in a map-based setting. They range from short in-class activities to multi-class modules covering broader content.

    GeoMapApp Learning Activities are tied to ESLI and NYS STEM and PS:ES standards and have a standard format:

    Title, summary, intended learning outcomes
    Prep time, grade level, required prior knowledge
    ESLI and NYS standards and NY Regents questions
    Step-by-step guide and teacher tips
    Student instructions and "grading-friendly" answer sheet
    Pre- and post- student quizzes
    Ideas for further knowledge gain

    GeoMapApp is an earth science exploration and visualization application that is continually being expanded as part of the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS) at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. The application provides direct access to the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) compilation that hosts high resolution (~100 m node spacing) bathymetry from multibeam data for ocean areas and ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) and NED (National Elevation Dataset) topography datasets for the global land masses.  

  • What are Persistent Identifiers and Why are they Important? (Webinar)

    Are you intrigued, interested or simply a bit confused by persistent identifiers and would like to know more? Then this introductory level webinar is for you! The webinar will be especially interesting if you are working with digital archives and digital collections. You will get a clear understanding of what persistent identifiers are, why they are important and how trustworthy they are. We also discuss how you can determine the most appropriate identifier for your needs. Note that this is not a deeply technical webinar.

    Topics that will be covered include:

    - What are persistent identifiers?
    - The case for PIDs – knowing what’s what and who’s who
    - The data architecture of PIDs
    - What is social infrastructure and why is it important?
    - Review of current identifier systems
    - How to choose a PID System
    - Case studies in documents, data, video

    This is part 1 of a 3 part series.

    Copies of version 2 of the slides can be found at:  https://figshare.com/articles/Overview_of_PID_Systems_for_THOR_Webinar/5...
    Version 2 of the slides have the following DOI:  https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5016803.v2 .

  • Persistent Identifiers: Current Features and Future Properties (Webinar)

    This webinar is for people who know what persistent identifiers are, but are interested in knowing much more about what you can actually do with them. In other words, what are the services that are being built on top of identifier systems that could be useful to the digital preservation community? We will cover topics such as party identification, interoperability and (metadata) services such as multiple resolution. Following on from that, we will explain more about the next generation of resolvers and work on extensions, such as specification of the URN r-component semantics.

    This part 2 of a 3 part series.

  • Persistent Identifier (S)election Guide (Webinar)

    Cultural heritage organisations, regardless of size, are often hesitant to implement PIDs. They lack knowledge of what PIDs are, don’t know about their capabilities and benefits, and fear a possible complex and costly implementation process as well as the maintenance costs for a sustained service. The Digital Heritage Network and the Dutch Coalition on Digital Preservation addresses these issues in three ways:

    By raising awareness of (the importance of) PIDs in cultural heritage organisations.
    By increasing the knowledge regarding the use of PIDs within cultural heritage.
    By supporting the technical implementation of PIDs in cultural heritage collection management systems. How we did this on a nationwide scale will be explained in the webinar.

    There are multiple PID systems. But which system is most suited to your situation: Archival Resource Keys (ARKs), Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), Handle, OpenURL, Persistent Uniform Resource Locators (PURLs) or Uniform Resource Names (URNs)? Each system has its own particular properties, strengths and weaknesses. The PID Guide from the Digital Heritage Network’s Persistent Identifier project helps you learn and think about important PID subjects, and guides your first steps towards selecting a PID system.

    This is part 3 of a 3 part series.

  • Research Data Management and Access: The Basis for Preserving and Providing Access to Research Data

    Brief introduction to research data preservation; research data management (RDM), including curation, documentation, metadata, and controlled vocabulary; and data access.

  • Research Data Management and Open Data

    This two-day workshop combines both presentations and interactive activities, exercises, and discussions, will provide Ph.D. students with practical skills directly applicable to their own research. Drawing on a wide range of data – both quantitative and qualitative – the workshop will address the following key topics in data management:

    • Documentation and contextual description
    • Ethical and legal aspects of managing and sharing sensitive data
    • Anonymising research data for reuse
    • Writing a data management plan
    • Data handling (e.g. file organisation and data storage and security)
    • Data preparation

    By the end of the workshop, participants will know how to apply good data management practices in their own research and will be able to work more efficiently and effectively with data individually or as part of a research team, where data are often co-produced and shared.

    From the Agenda on the home page, the PDF, text, and Epub versions of these slide presentations can be accessed by clicking on the link for each presentation.

  • Session 1: Introduction to IODE Ocean Data Portal V2, part of the ODINAFRICA Ocean Data Portal Training-of-Trainers Course.

    This video presentation is Session 1 of 3 from the ODINAFRICA Ocean Data Portal (ODP) training-of-trainers course.  The ODP course demonstrates the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) Ocean Data Portal V2. The focus is on ODP Data Provider for national nodes (NODCs). This course includes some specific topics like an introduction to Linux OS and an application server which are used as an operating environment. This course can be also used to gain a better understanding of the IODE Ocean Data Portal and its capabilities. 

    The course is comprised of three sessions and each session is composed of several video presentations. Session 1, Introduction to IODE Ocean Data Portal V2, contains the following videos.

    • Enabling Science through Seamless and Open Access to Marine Data
    • IODE-ODP: Technological Framework of New IODE System
    • Architecture of IODE ODP V2
    • ODP Data Provider Overview
    • ODP Interoperability Package

    PowerPoint slides for each presentation are available for download from the main course page.

    About the Ocean Data Portal:

    • Formally established in 2007 as a program under the IODE and supported by the Partnership Centre for IODE Ocean Data Portal, Russian Federation
    • Seeks to provide open and seamless access to marine data collections in an enabling and globally distributed environment
    • Facilitates discovery, evaluation, and access to data
    • Provides benefits to both data providers and data users
    • Focuses on standards, technology, people, and capacity planning 
  • Session 2: Ocean Data Portal (ODP) Data Provider - Data Connect and Share in the IODE Ocean Data Portal V2, part of the ODINAFRICA Ocean Data Portal Training-of-Trainers Course.

    This video presentation is Session 2 of 3 from the ODINAFRICA Ocean Data Portal (ODP) training-of-trainers course.  The ODP course demonstrates the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) Ocean Data Portal V2. The focus is on ODP Data Provider for national nodes (NODCs). This course includes some specific topics like an introduction to Linux OS and an application server which are used as an operating environment. This course can be also used to gain a better understanding of the IODE Ocean Data Portal and its capabilities.

    The course is comprised of three sessions and each session is composed of several video presentations. Session 2, ODP Data Provider - Data Connect and Share in the IODE Ocean Data Portal V2, contains the following videos.

    • Introduction to JBoss Application Server
    • ODP V2 Data Provider Package Overview
    • Technical and Operational Requirements
    • Deployment Process
    • Settings and Priorities
    • Provider's Identification Rules

    PowerPoint slides for each presentation are available for download from the main course page.

    About the Ocean Data Portal:

    • Formally established in 2007 as a program under the IODE and supported by the Partnership Centre for IODE Ocean Data Portal, Russian Federation
    • Seeks to provide open and seamless access to marine data collections in an enabling and globally distributed environment
    • Facilitates discovery, evaluation, and access to data
    • Provides benefits to both data providers and data users
    • Focuses on standards, technology, people, and capacity planning 
  • Session 3: Metadata Maintenance in the IODE Ocean Data Portal V2, part of the ODINAFRICA Ocean Data Portal Training-of-Trainers Course.

    This video presentation is Session 3 of 3 from the ODINAFRICA Ocean Data Portal (ODP) training-of-trainers course.  The ODP course demonstrates the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) Ocean Data Portal V2. The focus is on ODP Data Provider for national nodes (NODCs). This course includes some specific topics like an introduction to Linux OS and an application server which are used as an operating environment. This course can be also used to gain a better understanding of the IODE Ocean Data Portal and its capabilities. 

    The course is comprised of three sessions and each session is composed of several video presentations. Session 3, Metadata Maintenance in the IODE Ocean Data Portal V2, contains the following videos.

    • Metadata Templates and Patterns
    • Metadata Quality Procedures
    • Monitoring Procedure
    • Using Virtual Data Provider Capabilities 

    PowerPoint slides for each presentation are available for download from the main course page.

    About the Ocean Data Portal:

    • Formally established in 2007 as a program under the IODE and supported by the Partnership Centre for IODE Ocean Data Portal, Russian Federation
    • Seeks to provide open and seamless access to marine data collections in an enabling and globally distributed environment
    • Facilitates discovery, evaluation, and access to data
    • Provides benefits to both data providers and data users
    • Focuses on standards, technology, people, and capacity planning 
  • Introduction to Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies Course

    This is an introductory course for policymakers and funders and comprises slide presentations and a video. The course is organized into the following modules.

    • Introduction to Open Science for Funders
    • The Impact of Open Science
    • Definitions and Terms used in Open Science
    • Requirements of Horizon 2020 Regarding Open Access and Open Data 
    • Creating Effective Open Access Policies
    • Developing Open Data Policies

    Suggested reading is also provided.

    Available to view and download in PowerPoint format and available to download in text, PDF, and EPUB format on the slide preview pages for each module.

  • Introduction to Open Science for Funders, a part of the Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies course.

    Provides a brief introduction to the main concepts of Open Science, discusses the rationale for Open Science and highlights the implications for the research lifecycle.

    This slide presentation is part of the Introduction to Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies Course for policymakers and funders. It introduces the concept of and rationale for Open Science and some of the practicalities of Open Science.

    Available to view and download in PowerPoint format and available to download in text, PDF, and EPUB format at the provided URL.  Associated readings may be found for this topic at:  https://www.fosteropenscience.eu/learning/designing-successful-open-acce....

  • Open Access Explained! - a part of the Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies course.

    Provides a brief introduction to the main concepts of Open Science, discusses the rationale for Open Science and highlights the implications for the research lifecycle.

    This video module is part of the Introduction to Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies Course for policymakers and funders. It puts Open Access in the historical context of scientific publishing and explains the benefits and rationale.

    Associated readings may be found for this topic at:  https://www.fosteropenscience.eu/learning/designing-successful-open-acce....

     
  • Impact of Open Science, part of the Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies course.

    This slide presentation module is part of the Introduction to Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies Course for policymakers and funders. It discusses and provides evidence for the impact of Open Data and Open Access. 

    Available to view and download in PowerPoint format and available to download in text, PDF, and EPUB format at the provided URL.  Associated readings may be found for this topic at:  https://www.fosteropenscience.eu/learning/designing-successful-open-acce...

  • Definitions and Terms used in Open Science and Open Access, part of the Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies course.

    This slide presentation is part of the Introduction to Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies Course for policymakers and funders. It provides definitions of the main terms used in Open Science, including Research Data, and Gold, Green, Gratis and Libre Open Access.

    Available to view and download in PowerPoint format and available to download in text, PDF, and EPUB format at the provided URL.

    Associated readings may be found for this topic at:  https://www.fosteropenscience.eu/learning/designing-successful-open-acce...

  • The Requirements of Horizon 2020 Regarding Open Access and Open Data, part of the Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies course.

    This slide presentation module is part of the Introduction to Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies Course for policymakers and funders. It outlines the Horizon 2020 policy and recommendations on Open Access and Open Data, and the underlying rationale.

    Available to view and download in PowerPoint format and available to download in text, PDF, and EPUB format at the provided URL.

    Associated readings may be found for this topic at:  https://www.fosteropenscience.eu/learning/designing-successful-open-acce....

  • Creating Effective Open Access Policies, part of the Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies course.

    This slide presentation module is part of the Introduction to Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies Course for policymakers and funders. It describes what an Open Access policy should cover and what makes a policy effective; provides a model Open Access policy; explains why policies of this type work and gives examples.

    Available to view and download in PowerPoint format and available to download in text, PDF, and EPUB format at the provided URL.

    Associated readings may be found for this topic at:  https://www.fosteropenscience.eu/learning/designing-successful-open-acce...

  • Developing Open Data Policies, part of the Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies course.

    This slide presentation module is part of the Introduction to Designing Successful Open Access and Open Data Policies Course for policymakers and funders. It describes what an Open Data policy covers; discusses the content of a model Open Data policy; gives a practical checklist for developing an Open Data policy; discusses what makes an Open Data policy effective; and analyses existing policies of funders and links to examples.

    Associated readings may be found for this topic at:  https://www.fosteropenscience.eu/learning/designing-successful-open-acce....

  • Open Science at the Core of Libraries

    This introductory course is addressed to librarians at different levels and positions that are committed to supporting researchers and their research processes at their institutions and would like to gain an understanding of the implications of Open Science for them, the potential opportunities and possible challenges, and check on existing best practices to deal with them.

    The course includes five sections:

    • What is Open Science?
    • What are the Benefits of Open Science?
    • What are the Challenges for Open Science?
    • What is in Open Science for Librarians?
    • What to Do Next?

    Each section may include videos, associated readings, and Open Science lifecycle diagrams.  

    Learning outcomes:

    The learning outcomes of this course are:

    • Understand the relevance of Open Science in relation to research integrity, reproducibility and impact
    • Identify the implications and opportunities for libraries in the development and support of Open Science
    • Know existing initiatives and best practices on Open Science
    • Identify suitable resources and tools to further develop library services on Open Science

    Greater insight on how to implement Open Data and Research Data Management, Open Access, copyright and e-infrastructures into the scholarly lifecycle and grant proposal preparation, can be found in the other FOSTER courses and training resources.

  • An Introduction to the Basics of Research Data

    This is an animated video explaining the basics of research data. This video is recommended background material for students planning to attend a workshop on research data management. It has as its purpose the explanation of the basics of research data, in a simplistic, entertaining, and interesting manner. It is hoped that the information contained in the video will prepare research data novices for a future research data management course/workshop.

  • Long-lived Data: Tools to Preserve Data: Theoretical Overview

    This slide presentation covers the research data management life-cycle, data preservation concepts and processes, metadata for preservation, levels of digital preservation, what should be preserved, and institutional readiness.

    Slides are available for download at the provided URL.

  • Long-Lived Data: Tools to Preserve Research Data

    This slide presentation provides an introduction to BagIt and Bagger. BagIt is a hierarchical file packaging format designed to support storage and network transfer of digital content. Bagger enables creators and recipients of BagIt packages to confirm that the files are complete and valid. The presentation covers:

    • What are BagIt and Bagger?
    • Installing and running Bagit and Bagger
    • Types of metadata
  • Write a Data Management Plan

    Video tutorial describing how to write a data management plan, for example for a research grant application to an Economic and Social Research Council. A data management and sharing plan can help you consider--when you design and plan your research--how data will be managed during the research process and shared afterward with the wider research community. 

    Research benefits:

    • Establishes how to collect and manage research data
    • Helps keep track of data assets (e.g., when staff leave your institution)
    • Identifies data support, resources, and services
    • Plans for data security and ethical measures
    • Prepares you for data request

    For access to more UK Data Service video tutorials go to https://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk/use-data/tutorials. 

  • Demonstration of the Open Science Framework (OSF) Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN)

    A demonstration of Open Science Framework's (OSF) Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN). OSF's application is a free, open-source web tool designed to help researchers track, manage, store, and if they choose, share their entire research workflow. 
    A wide range of resources for perspective electronic lab notebook (ELN) users can be found on the Gurdon Institute website at https://www.gurdon.cam.ac.uk/institute-life/computing/elnguidance. The site includes:

    • What is an Electronic Lab Notebook, and why should I use one?
    • A note about DIY documentation systems
    • Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) vs Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
    • Disengagement - what if I want to change systems?
    • Which ELN would be best for me/my group?
    • Evaluating the product
    • Some current ELN products (suitability, platform, storage, and other details)
  • Data Sharing and Management Snafu in Three Short Acts

    A data management horror story by Karen Hanson, Alisa Surkis, and Karen Yacobucci. This is what shouldn't happen when a researcher makes a data sharing request! Topics include storage, documentation, and file formats.