Library: Geological &amp; Planetary Sciences (GPS): Research Data

Research Data Management

Data planning and issues related to data management have many important issues to be aware of.

Some factors to consider when working and planning to use data:

Data description, such as metadata. Good metadata ensures discoverability.
Standards such as documentation, naming conventions, file formats.
Access and sharing, such as privacy or security requirements, funder requirements, backup and storage, what will be shared where.
Publishing and preserving, think about preservation as you work with your research. Take steps to preserve your data, and decide what needs to be preserved.
Citing data, gives credit where credit is due. Citations help others to find, replicate and work from your research.

There are many more aspects involved in data management.

For information on data and data management plans, please visit our Data Management LibGuide.

USGS Data Management Plans & Resources

Acceptable Digital Repositories for USGS Pubs and Data
A list of acceptable repositories for USGS funded information products. Peer-reviewed scientific publications and data approved for release must be placed in an acceptable digital repository to allow free public access and long term preservation.
Data Management Plans
Planning for a project involves making decisions about data resources and potential products. A Data Management Plan (DMP) describes data that will be acquired or produced during research; how the data will be managed, described, and stored, what standards you will use, and how data will be handled and protected during and after the completion of the project.
Science Data Lifecycle Model
The USGS Science Data Lifecycle Model (SDLM) illustrates the stages of data management and describes how data flow through a research project from start to finish.
Training Module
USGS Science Data Lifecycle training module to learn more about the science data lifecycle.
Towson University - USGS Data Management LibGuide
An excellent LibGuide, provided by Towson University, simplifies the data lifecycle from the USGS.
USGS Public Access Plan
The USGS “Public Access to Results of Federally Funded Research at the U.S. Geological Survey: Scholarly Publications and Digital Data” has been updated to reflect new directives resulting from an Office of Science Technology Policy (OSTP) memorandum issued August 25, 2022.
USGS Public Access Plan (pdf document)
The updated public access plan is available for download as a pdf from this link.

Resources and Tutorials from Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)

The Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) has compiled a comprehensive list of tutorials from their Data Help Desk, in collaboration with AGU:

NSF

Caltech Research Data Repository

CaltechDATA
The Caltech library runs a campus-wide data repository to preserve the accomplishments of Caltech researchers and share their results with the world. The service enables researchers to upload research data, link data with their publications, and assign a permanent DOI so that others can reference the data set. The repository can link with a Github account to automatically preserve software releases. All Caltech researchers can deposit data or software at data.caltech.edu.
Research Data Support
The library helps campus research labs and centers manage and publish their research data.
Custom DOIs for groups on campus
In addition to self-service DOIs, Caltech Library also manages custom DOIs for groups on campus.

Data Repositories and Directories

Selected data repositories and directories to help you get started. Note, this is not a comprehensive list.

COPDESS
This directory will help you, as an Earth and Space science researcher, author, or journal, find the right repository for your data, based on data type, discipline, and other relevant repository factors.
DataONE
DataONE is a community driven project providing access to data across multiple member repositories, supporting enhanced search and discovery of Earth and environmental data.
EarthChem
Community-driven preservation, discovery, access, and visualization of geochemical, geochronological, and petrological data.
Earth Observation Data
NASA acquires, archives, and distributes data from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs.
Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)
NASA's Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) provides access to a wide range of global climate data, concentrated primarily in the areas of atmospheric composition, atmospheric dynamics, global precipitation, and solar irradiance.
IRIS
Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology (IRIS) archives seismic data.
National Centers for Environmental Information
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is responsible for preserving, monitoring, assessing, and providing public access to the Nation's treasure of geophysical data and information.
PANGAEA
Data Publisher for Earth and Environmental Science.
Re3Data
The Online Registry of Research Data Repositories is a good place to start. Search it by topic or Browse by subject, content type, or country.
USGS ScienceBase
USGS trusted digital repository providing access to scientific data products and resources.

Online Data Management Plans

DMPTool
Managed by University of California Curation Center, DMPTool is free and open source. You can create data management plans that meet institutional and funder requirements.
DMPonline
UK based, managed by Digital Curation Center (DCC) & the University of California Curation Center (UC3). Useful for researchers applying for international grants.