Data Management and Publishing

Manage Your Data

The MIT Libraries supports the MIT community in the management and curation of research data by providing the following services:

Data Management Guide

This Data Management and Publishing Guide is a practical self-help guide to the management and curation of research data throughout its life cycle. It provides guidance on a range of topics, including: planning for data management, documentation/metadata, file formats, data organization, data security and backup, citing data, data integration, funder requirements, ethical and legal issues, and sharing and archiving data.

Assistance with Creating Data Management Plans

Many funders, such as the National Science Foundation, have requirements for data sharing and data management plans. We can help you to put together such a plan, assess the data management needs of your particular project, and assist in identifying solutions for data management and archiving.

Workshops

Managing Research Data 101, a workshop designed for researchers working to manage their data, offers basic, practical strategies for data management, providing an overview of the topics covered in the Data Management and Publishing Guide. The latest version of the slides from this workshop can be found at Managing Research Data 101 (PDF).

Individual Consultation and Collaboration with Researchers

We are available for individual consultation on data management issues, and can provide expertise in areas such as data organization and preservation, connect you to a network of data management services, and advocate for your needs. We can help you in understanding your data management needs and recommending optimal practices for keeping your data usable, now and into the future.

Referrals to Related Services

DSpace@MIT is a possible option for making your data publicly available and ensuring long term access to it, depending on the nature of the content type and the size of the datasets. See the Guidelines for Research Dataset Contributions in DSpace@MIT for more details. Beyond MIT, we can assist you in finding appropriate subject based data repositories for your work.

Contact Us

For help with your data management needs please contact us at data-management@mit.edu. The Libraries' Research Data Management Services are an evolving set of services, and we welcome your feedback on them as well as your input on what kinds of data management services you would find most valuable.

Faculty Successes:

"I've had thousands of downloads of my published data--I am impressed that it's been so useful to others!"

Esther Duflo, Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, MIT