CUR Remote Undergraduate Research Resourcesurca.msu.edu/files/resources/139/document/CUR Remote... · 2020. 5. 8. · CUR Remote Undergraduate Research Resources As undergraduate

CURRemoteUndergraduateResearchResourcesAsundergraduateresearchopportunitiesmovetoremotesettings,yourinstitution’slibraryandyourlibrarianscanbegreatresourcestoseekout.Librariansunderstandhowinformationiscreatedandorganized,andareusefulfoilstocollaboratewithdisciplinaryfaculty.Inaddition,ourlibrariansaretheonesmakingdecisionsaboutdatabaseaccessandultimately,whatinformationisavailabletoyouandyourstudentstoconductresearch.Belowarejustasamplingofwaysandresourcestocreatemeaningfulandengagingundergraduateresearchexperiencesinavirtualsetting.Ourworkisdividedintoseveralsectionsandwehopeyoucanusethisdocumentasasourceofinspirationasyoudesignyourundergraduateresearchprojects.Thisisalivingdocument,sofeelfreetoprovidefeedbacktotheauthorsforadditions.ThisdocumentwascreatedbyateamfromPennStateUniversityLibraries.Pleasereachoutifyouhaveanyquestions.● HailleyFargo�StudentEngagementCoordinator�hmf14@psu.edu● JenJarson�HeadLibrarian,PennStateLehighValley�jmj12@psu.edu● ChristinaRiehman-Murphy�Reference&InstructionLibrarian,PennStateAbington

�cer20@psu.edu

TABLEOFCONTENTSLibrarians as Collaborators

Online Guides Workshops Case Studies

Data Sets Library-subscription Databases Government, NGO, and IGO Databases

United States Government International Governments Intergovernmental Organizations Non-governmental Organizations

Research Centers and Professional Organizations Discovering More Data Sets

Search Engines and Repositories Library Guides

Institutions and Professional Organizations

Transcription, Oral History, & Other Research Projects Transcription Projects Oral History Other research projects

Librarians as Collaborators Ifyou’recuriousabouthowlibrariansandfacultycancollaboratetocreateundergraduateresearchexperiences,UndergraduateResearch&theAcademicLibrarian:CaseStudiesandBestPractices,editedbyMerindaKayeHensleyandStephanieDavid-Kahl,isagreatplacetostart.Thesechaptersshowcasetheadvantagesofcollaboratinginordertocreateindependentandclass-basedundergraduateresearchprojects.Thisbookisalsoavailableonline.

Online Guides Manylibrarianscreateguidestohelptheirusersaccessselected,disciplinaryresources,orgaintrainingoncertainresearchtools.Forexample,theUniversityofIllinoishasaselectionof“SavvyResearcher”guidesthatcanbeagoodstartingspot.Additionally,theUniversityofMinnesotahasalandingpageforresearchresources,connectingtheircommunitytotheresourcestheyneed.Somelibrarieswillalsocreateguidesfordatasets.Afewexamplesarebelow,butalsorefertotheDataSetssectionofthisguide.● CarnegieMellonUniversityLibraryBusiness&EconomicsDataSets● UCBerkeleyOpenDataSets● WebsterUniversityLibraryMedicine&BiologicalScienceStatistics● SacramentoStateUniversityLibraryDatasetsandStatistics● VanderbiltUniversityLibrarySocialSciencesDataSets

Workshops Finally,intheseremotesituations,manylibrariesarehostingvirtualresearchworkshops.Theseworkshopsarewell-suitedforfaculty,graduatestudents,andundergraduates,helpingtoprovidefoundationalskills.Forsomeexamplesofthis,seePennStateLibraries’pressreleaseonourRemoteResearchSeminarSeries.Manylibrarianscanofferworkshopsthatsupportthebeginningstagesofresearchforeitherclassesorresearchgroups.Forexample,thePennStateLibrarieshasfoundationalskillsandjoiningthescholarlyconversationworkshopsthatworkwellwithstudentsbeginningundergraduateresearchexperiences.

Case Studies

Intheir2019articleUndergraduateResearchforOnlineStudents,FaulconerandGrussmadethecaseforbringingundergraduateresearchtoonlinestudents,notingthatwhilethereareperhapsdifferentbarrierstoentryforthispopulation,thattheknownnumerousandsignificantbenefitsofparticipatinginundergraduateresearchmakeitwillworthexploringhowtoengageremoteanddistancestudentsinthishighimpactpractice.Thisareaisripeforexplorationasthereisverylittleknownabouthoworevenifhighereducationinstitutionsareprovidingtheseopportunities.Nowwiththesuddenandwide-scaleshifttoremotelearning,it’sanimperativethatinstitutions,facultyresearchers,andlibrarianssharetheworkthey’redoingtobegintoaddressthisneed.

WhiletherearefewcasestudieslookingatUndergraduateResearchExperiences(URE)fordistanceundergraduatestudents,thereareneverthelessmanyexamplesofundergraduatesdoingresearchwithdigitalcollections,withlargepublicdatasets,andwithsocialmediadatathatcanbeusedasmodelsforimplementingsimilarUREsinremotesettings.

Digitalhumanitiesprojectsarewell-suitedfordistanceandresidentiallearning.AtPennStateAbington,theliteraryinformaticslibrarian,whoislocatedatadifferentcampus,teachesundergraduateresearchstudentscorpusanalysisusingVoyantinordertoanalyzetherecipestheyaretranscribingthroughtheFolgerShakespeare’sDigitalTranscriptionPortal.AndalibrarianandarchivistcollaboratedtocoteachadistanceliberalartscoursetoundergraduatestudentsthroughtheCouncilofPublicLiberalArtscolleges(COPLAC)toengagethemwiththecurationandcreationofdigitalscholarlyprojects.Theychosebroadthemesandallowedstudentstoexplorelocalstoriesusingprimarysourcesbuttheyalsousedthiscoursetoexplorebestpracticesformanagingdigitalprojectsinadistanceenvironment.

MembersofCURmightbefamiliarwithhowgeoscienceinstructorsleveragedthePaleobiologyDatabase(PDBD)toengagestudentsandinstitutions,whichmightnototherwisehavethetimeorequipment,withundergraduateresearch.ProjectEDDIEisacross-institutionalpedagogicalcollaborativewhichdevelopsflexiblemodelsthatguideundergraduatestudentsthroughtheexplorationoflargepubliclyavailabledatasetsthatfocusonenvironmentalscienceandeducationaspartofacourse-basedundergraduateresearchexperience(CURE).Bethune-CookmanUniversity’sCenterforUndergraduateResearchrunsaninterdisciplinarysummerresearchprogramwhereallofthestudentsworkedwiththesamelargecriminaljusticedatasetfromtheFloridaDepartmentofJuvenilebutworkedinteamstoexaminediscipline-specificfacetsofthedata.CommunicationfacultyatTarletonStateUniversityusedafirst-yearseminarcourseto

engagestudentswithTwitterdataaroundactivismandmulticulturalism,aprojectthatcouldbecustomizedformanysocialsciencefields.InstitutionslookingtodevelopstrongsupportprogramsshouldlooktotheUniversityofMaryland-CollegePark’sFirst-YearInnovation&ResearchExperience(FIRE)whichfocusesonbig-dataanalysisandvisualizationasresearchmethods“inamannerthatdoesnotrequirefacilities,equipment,consumables,protocols,oranestablishedresearchplan.”

Whatiscommonamongmanyofthesecasestudiesisthattheyaredesignedtobeinterdisciplinarywhichmakesthemscalableandcustomizabletoresearchprojectsofallscopesandsizes.Thefacultyrunningtheseprojectsnotedthatstudentsgainedcrucialresearchskills,particularlyinthehighlymarketableandnecessaryareasofvisualization,statisticsandanalysis.SomenotedthatusingpubliclyavailabledataanddigitalartifactseliminatedthebarrierofneedingIRBapprovalandthesubsequenttrainingforstudentsthatrequires.Manyoftheteamswhoworkedwithlargedatasetsmentionedtheimportanceofhumanizingandcontextualizingthenumbers,whichcanbeoverwhelming,especiallyforundergraduates.Doingsorequirescollaborationwithhumanitiesfacultyandprojectswhichwillgoalongwaytowardsmakingdistanceundergraduateresearchexperiencesaccessibleandrewardingforallinvolved.Andengagingstudentswithpublicsourcesofinformationandnovelmethodsandtechnologiesgivesthemthenecessarydataliteracyandinquiryskillsneededforlifelonglearning.

DataSetsThedatabasesandwebsitesfeaturedhereofferasnapshotofthesearchtoolsandsourcesavailabletohelpyoudiscoverdatasets.Someofthetoolsandsourcesaremulti-disciplinarywhileothersaresubject-specific.Consultwithlibrariansatyourinstitutionforassistancelocatingadditionaldatasetsspecifictoyourneeds.

Library-subscription Databases Yourlibrarymaysubscribetodatabasesthatprovidedatasetsrelevantforyourdisciplineandresearcharea.Thefollowingselectedlisthighlightssomeoptionsofferedbymanylibraries.Consultwithyourlibrariansorcheckyourlibrary’swebsiteforaccesstotheseandothersubscriptiondatabases.

● DataCitationIndex-“Searchdirectlyacrossmillionsofrecordsfromhundredsofevaluateddatarepositoriesinthesciences,socialsciences,andhumanities.”

● DataPlanetStatisticalDatasets-“TheDataPlanetrepositorycontainsmorethan157billiondatapointsfrommorethan80sourceorganizations.”Subjectcategoriesincludeagriculture,bankingandfinance,criminaljustice,education,energy,government,health,housing,businessandcommerce,trade,labor,military,naturalresources,population,pricesandcostofliving,transportation,andmore.

● ICPSR-“Aninternationalconsortiumofmorethan750academicinstitutionsandresearchorganizations,Inter-universityConsortiumforPoliticalandSocialResearch(ICPSR)providesleadershipandtrainingindataaccess,curation,andmethodsofanalysisforthesocialscienceresearchcommunity.ICPSRmaintainsadataarchiveofmorethan250,000filesofresearchinthesocialandbehavioralsciences.”

● iPollDatabank-“TheiPOLLdatabaseisaunique,richdatasourceforUSpublicopinionquestionsandanswers.Thesystemallowsforuserstosiftthroughover700,000questionsarchivedfromnationalpublicopinionsurveyssince1935.”

● MergentOnline-“Businessandfinancialdata”● SAGEResearchMethodsDatasets-“SAGEResearchMethodsDatasetsprovidethat

opportunityforuserslookingtomasterquantitativeorqualitativedataanalysis.Eachtitleprovidessampledatathathasbeenoptimizedfordemonstratingamethod,accompaniedbyahow-toguidethatexplainsthemethodathandandwalksusersthroughtheanalysisusingthedataprovided.QuantitativeexamplesalsoincludesoftwareguidesforstatisticalanalysisusingSPSS,R,Stata,orPython.”

● SAGEStats-“Featuresstatisticaldataseriescreatedfrommorethan400,000governmentandnon-governmentdatasets,coveringpopulartopicsofresearchinterestforU.S.states,counties,cities,metropolitanareas,andZIPcodes.”

● WhartonResearchDataServices(WRDS)-“WRDSprovidesresearcherswithonelocationtoaccessover350terabytesofdataacrossmultipledisciplinesincludingAccounting,Banking,Economics,ESG,Finance,Healthcare,Insurance,Marketing,andStatistics.”

Government, NGO, and IGO Databases Governments,nongovernmentalorganizations(NGOs),andintergovernmentalorganizations(IGOs)collectawidevarietyofdataandmakesomeofthisdataavailabletothepublic.Thefollowingselectedlistisintendedtohighlighttherangeandtypesofdatasetsavailable.Tolocateothers,checkgovernment,NGO,andIGOwebsitesorconsultwithyourlibrarians.

● United States Government ○ BureauofJusticeStatistics-“TheUnitedStates'primarysourceforcriminal

justicestatistics.BJSmission:Tocollect,analyze,publish,anddisseminateinformationoncrime,criminaloffenders,victimsofcrime,andtheoperationofjusticesystemsatalllevelsofgovernment.”

○ BureauofLaborStatistics-“TheBureauofLaborStatisticsmeasureslabormarketactivity,workingconditions,pricechanges,andproductivityintheU.S.economytosupportpublicandprivatedecisionmaking.”

○ CentersforDiseaseControlandPreventionData-Subjectsinclude:health,injuryandviolence,disease,vaccination,tobaccouse,disability,andmore.

○ CitylevelopendataprojectslikeOpenDataPhillyandNYCOpenData○ ClimateDataOnline(NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration)-

“ClimateDataOnline(CDO)providesfreeaccesstoNCDC'sarchiveofglobalhistoricalweatherandclimatedatainadditiontostationhistoryinformation.”

○ Data.gov-“Underthetermsofthe2013FederalOpenDataPolicy,newly-generatedgovernmentdataisrequiredtobemadeavailableinopen,machine-readableformats,whilecontinuingtoensureprivacyandsecurity.”

○ EnvironmentalDatasetGatewayandEnvirofacts(EnvironmentalProtectionAgency)-“EPA'sofficialopendatacatalog”and“Yourone-stopsourceforenvironmentalinformation.”

○ FRED:FederalReserveEconomicData(FederalReserveBankofSt.Louis)-Economicdata

○ HealthData.gov(U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices)-“Onthissite,youcanfinddataonawiderangeoftopics,includingenvironmentalhealth,medicaldevices,Medicare&Medicaid,socialservices,communityhealth,mentalhealth,andsubstanceabuse.Thedataiscollectedand

suppliedfromagenciesfromtheU.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServicesaswellasstatepartners.ThisincludestheCentersforMedicareandMedicaidServices,CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,FoodandDrugAdministration,andtheAgencyforHealthCareResearchandQuality,amongothers.”

○ NASA-EarthDataandSpaceScienceDataCoordinatedArchiveandAstrophysicsDataSystem

○ NationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation(U.S.NationalLibraryofMedicine)-“NCBIhasbeenchargedwithcreatingautomatedsystemsforstoringandanalyzingknowledgeaboutmolecularbiology,biochemistry,andgenetics;facilitatingtheuseofsuchdatabasesandsoftwarebytheresearchandmedicalcommunity;coordinatingeffortstogatherbiotechnologyinformationbothnationallyandinternationally;andperformingresearchintoadvancedmethodsofcomputer-basedinformationprocessingforanalyzingthestructureandfunctionofbiologicallyimportantmolecules.”

○ NationalLibraryofMedicineDataDiscovery-“AccesstodatasetsfromselectedNLMresources.”

○ NationalLongitudinalSurveys(BureauofLaborStatistics)-“Asetofsurveysdesignedtogatherinformationatmultiplepointsintimeonthelabormarketactivitiesandothersignificantlifeeventsofseveralgroupsofmenandwomen.”

○ StateDataCenterProgram-“TheSDCleadagenciesorganizeastatewidenetworkofcoordinatingandaffiliateagencies.ThisnetworkworksinpartnershipwiththeCensusBureauthroughtheDataUsersBranch(DUB)andtheCensusBureau'sRegionalOfficesfordatadisseminationatthelocallevel.”

○ U.S.Census-“TheCensusBureauistheleadingsourceofqualitydataaboutthenation'speopleandeconomy.”

○ U.S.DepartmentofEnergyDataExplorer-“SearchtoolforfindingDOE-funded,publiclyavailable,scientificdatasubmittedbydatacenters,repositories,andotherorganizationsfundedbytheDepartment….IncludesdataProject,dataCollection,andindividualDatasetrecords.”

○ U.S.EnergyInformationAdministrationOpenData-“Dataforelectricity,petroleum,andnaturalgas.”

○ U.S.GeologicalSurvey-USGSprovides“scienceaboutthenaturalhazardsthatthreatenlivesandlivelihoods,thewater,energy,minerals,andothernaturalresourceswerelyon,thehealthofourecosystemsandenvironment,andtheimpactsofclimateandland-usechange.“

● International Governments ○ CentralBankandMonetaryAuthorityWebsites(BankforInternational

Settlements)-Adirectorybycountry.Visiteachbank’swebsitetocheckondataavailability.

○ NationalStatisticalOffices(UnitedNations)-“TheUnitedNationsStatisticsDivision…hasdevelopedacentralrepositoryofcountryprofilesofstatisticalsystems.”Visiteachcountry’ssitetocheckondataavailability.

● Intergovernmental Organizations ○ OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopmentData(OECD)-

Workson“establishingevidence-basedinternationalstandardsandfindingsolutionstoarangeofsocial,economicandenvironmentalchallenges.”

○ UNdata(UnitedNations)-“Thenumerousdatabasesortablescollectivelyknownas"datamarts"containover60milliondatapointsandcoverawiderangeofstatisticalthemesincludingagriculture,crime,communication,developmentassistance,education,energy,environment,finance,gender,health,labourmarket,manufacturing,nationalaccounts,populationandmigration,scienceandtechnology,tourism,transportandtrade.”

○ UNESCOInstituteofStatistics-“Internationally-comparabledataoneducation,science,cultureandcommunication.AstheofficialstatisticalagencyofUNESCO,theUISproducesawiderangeofindicatorsinUNESCO’sfieldsofactionbyworkingwithnationalstatisticaloffices,lineministriesandotherstatisticalorganizations.”

○ WorldBankOpenData-“Globaldevelopmentdata”● Non-governmental Organizations

○ WorldwideNGODirectory(WorldAssociationofNon-GovernmentalOrganizations)

Research Centers and Professional Organizations Researchcentersandinstitutesengagedindatacollectionsometimesmaketheirdataavailabletothepublic.Thefollowingselectedlistprovidesjustasnapshotoftheseoptions.Tolocateothers,checkthewebsitesofresearchcenterswithwhichyou’realreadyfamiliarorconsultwithyourlibrarians.

● AmericanNationalElectionStudies-“Highqualitydatafromitsownsurveysonvoting,publicopinion,andpoliticalparticipation.”

● AssociationofReligionDataArchives-Religiondata● ASTI(InternationalFoodPolicyResearchInstitute)-“Dataonagriculturalresearch

systemsacrossthedevelopingworld”

● ArchaeologyDataService(UniversityofYork)-“AccrediteddigitalrepositoryforheritagedatageneratedbyUK-basedfieldworkandresearch.”

● CenterforAppliedInternetDataAnalysis-“Collection,curation,andsharingofdataforscientificanalysisofInternettraffic,topology,routing,performance,andsecurity-relatedevents.”

● CrystallographyOpenDatabase-“Open-accesscollectionofcrystalstructuresoforganic,inorganic,metal-organicscompoundsandminerals,excludingbiopolymers.”

● CornellInstituteforSocialandEconomicResearch-“Extensivedatacollectionwithemphasisonlabor,political,andsocialbehavior,demography,economics,andhealth.Thecollectionincludesfederalandstatecensusfiles,administrativerecords,publicopinionsurveys,economicandsocialdatafromnationalandinternationalorganizations,alongwithstudiescompiledbyindividualresearchers.”

● GeneralSocialSurvey(NationalDataProgramfortheSocialSciences)-“TheGSScontainsastandardcoreofdemographic,behavioral,andattitudinalquestions,plustopicsofspecialinterest.Amongthetopicscoveredarecivilliberties,crimeandviolence,intergrouptolerance,morality,nationalspendingpriorities,psychologicalwell-being,socialmobility,andstressandtraumaticevents.”

● GeologicalSocietyofAmericaDataRepository-Geoscienceresearch● NationalArchiveofDataonArtsandCulture(ICPSR)-“Arepositorythatfacilitates

researchonartsandculturebyacquiringdata,particularlythosefundedbyfederalagenciesandotherorganizations,andsharingthosedatawithresearchers,policymakers,peopleintheartsandculturefield,andthegeneralpublic.”

● PEWResearchCenter-“WestudyU.S.politicsandpolicy;journalismandmedia;internet,scienceandtechnology;religionandpubliclife;Hispanictrends;globalattitudesandtrends;andU.S.socialanddemographictrends.”

● StanfordLargeNetworkDatasetCollection(StanfordUniversity)-Datasetsofsocialandinformationnetworks.

● UKDataService-“CollectionincludesmajorUKgovernment-sponsoredsurveys,cross-nationalsurveys,longitudinalstudies,UKcensusdata,internationalaggregate,businessdata,andqualitativedata.”

● ZINC15-“Freedatabaseofcommercially-availablecompoundsforvirtualscreening.ZINCcontainsover230millionpurchasablecompoundsinready-to-dock,3Dformats.”

Discovering More Data Sets

● Search Engines and Repositories

Exploresearchenginesandrepositoriesthatarespecifictodatasetssuchas:

○ DataHub-“Thousandsofdatasetsfromfinancialmarketdataandpopulationgrowthtocryptocurrencyprices.”

○ DryadDigitalRepository-“Acuratedresourcethatmakesresearchdatadiscoverable,freelyreusable,andcitable.Dryadprovidesageneral-purposehomeforawidediversityofdatatypes.Dryadoriginatedfromaninitiativeamongagroupofleadingjournalsandscientificsocieties...Ourmissionistoprovidetheinfrastructurefor,andpromotethere-useof,dataunderlyingthescholarlyliterature.”

○ GoogleDatasetSearch(Google)○ GooglePublicDataSearch(Google)○ HarvardDataverse(HarvardUniversity)○ QualitativeDataRepository-“Dedicatedarchiveforstoringandsharing

digitaldata(andaccompanyingdocumentation)generatedorcollectedthroughqualitativeandmulti-methodresearchinthesocialsciences.”

○ RegistryofOpenDataonAWS-“DatasetsmadepubliclyavailablethroughAWSservices.”

○ RegistryofResearchDataRepositories(re3data.org)

● Library Guides

Lookforguidesorcompilationsfromyourinstitution’slibrarythatmaypointyoutosubscription-basedoropendatabasesanddatasetssuchas:

○ BiomedicalandLifeSciencesData(BrownUniversityLibrary)○ DataResourcesintheHealthSciences:ClinicalDataandScientificData

(UniversityofWashingtonHealthSciencesLibrary)○ DataSetsforSocialSciences:SocialData(VanderbiltUniversityLibraries)○ DataSetsforQuantitativeResearch:PublicUseDatasets(Universityof

MissouriLibraries)○ Datasets:WheretoFindThem-Note:Coversawidevarietyofdisciplines

(GeorgeA.SmathersLibraries,UniversityofFlorida)

● Institutions and Professional Organizations

Checkwebsitesofprofessionalorganizationsthatmaypointyoutosubscription-basedoropendatabasesanddatasetssuchas:

○ BehavioralandSocialScienceDataSetsandRepositories(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation)

○ DukeClinicalandTranslationalScienceInstitute(DukeUniversity)○ ScientificData:RecommendedDataRepositories(Nature)

Transcription, Oral History, & Other Research Projects Theseareresearchprojectsalreadyunderwayandcouldbecomeanindependentprojectanundergraduatetakeson.Foralloftheseprojects,it’simportanttothinkthroughwaystoscaffoldthisresearch.Scaffoldingincludesinformationonwhytheseprojectsmatter,howresearchersusethisdatatoinformfutureresearchprojects,andotherinstructiononhowtodothiswork.Theprojectslinkedbelowareworksinprogress,wherestudentscanhelpcontributetoagrowingsetoftranscribed,primarysourcedocuments.Therearealsodatabaseswithfullytranscribedprimarysources,thatcouldbeleveragedintoanundergraduateresearchproject.Ifyou’dliketolearnmoreaboutthosedatabases,pleaseconsultwithyourlocallibrariantoseewhataccessyourinstitutionhas.

Transcription Projects

● NewberryTranscribe● HomerMultitextProject.TheseresearchersareparticularlyinterestedinUGR● DIYHistoryfromtheUniversityofIowa● TheRyanWhiteLettersTranscriptionProject● VastEarlyAmericaResourcesfromOmohundroInstitute● BythePeoplefromtheLibraryofCongress● EMROCwhichispartofthelargerEarlyModernManuscriptsOnlineProjectEMMO● EMPOPwhichispartofthelargerEarlyModernManuscriptsOnlineProject

Oral History

● COVID-19OralHistoryProjectfromIUPUI

Other research projects

● NickelsandDimesResearchOpportunities,fromNorthernIllinoisUniversity● TheNewberryLibrary’sResourcesthatyoucanengagewithatadistance