Love Data Week 2023 Day 2 – Celebrating Juneteenth with Data and Resources from ICPSR

A graphic for love data Week

Resource Center for Minority Data 

Celebrating Juneteenth with Data and Resources from ICPSR 

Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE® 

On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth an American federal holiday. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond. 

On June 19, 1865, two years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, US Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order (3). The order began with following lines: 

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer (1).”  Continue reading

Love Data Week 2023 Day 2 – Open Data, Scientific anti-racism, and the Father of American Anthropology 

A graphic for love data Week

Franz Boas’s Immigrant Study 

Open Data, Scientific anti-racism, and the Father of American Anthropology 

Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE® 

 Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist who’s work has had him dubbed the “Father of American Anthropology”. In his obituary, published in Science it is written that:  

“Boas’ emphasis on obtaining accurate, detailed knowledge, both intensive and extensive, not only raised the standards of anthropology; it changed its methodology and problems. In phrasing these problems and in insisting that relevant data be used in answering them systematically, he was a great pioneer who led the way into new fields of investigation. He found anthropology a collection of wild guesses and a happy hunting ground for the romantic lover of primitive things; he left it a discipline in which theories could be tested and in which he had delimited possibilities from impossibilities” (1). 

Born in Germany in 1858, Boas immigrated to the  United States in 18962. While in Germany, Boas was exposed to both the human and natural sciences (2), thus the asking and answering of questions based on evidence was a crucial part of the methodologies he instigated in the field of anthropology. Boaz challenged the reigning notions of race during his time and taught his students to do the same (3). During his time, Boas made many enemies as he professed a belief that was antithetical to the notion that culture was something that evolved within societies by stages from lower forms to higher (2). During a time when scientific racism was rampant with many proponents ascribing to the evolutional classification of races, Boas was strongly opposed to the idea that one’s own culture or “race” was superior to others and asserted that this view was not only wrong, but also harmful (3). While scientists and anthropologists believed race to be a biological characteristic that could explain human behavior, Boas’ set out to prove through scientific means that this was faulty thinking.   Continue reading

Love Data Week 2023 Day 1 – Data: Agent of Change 

By Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE® 

University of Cincinnati Libraries Research & Data Services 

A graphic for love data Week

Love Data Week kicks off today, February 13 and runs through Friday, February 17, 2023. 

Love Data Week is an international event celebrating data and raising global awareness about the importance of data science and management. Typically, this week is used to as an opportunity to convene a community of data scientists and discuss contemporary issues affecting data management, sharing, privacy, preservation, reuse, and delivery. 

The theme this year is Data: Agent of Change. Love Data Week is about inspiring your community to use data to bring about changes that matter. Policy change, environmental change, social change…we can move mountains with the right data guiding our decisions. This year, we are focused on helping new and seasoned data users find data training and other resources that can help move the needle on the issues they care about. 

Members of the University of Cincinnati Libraries Research & Data Services group will be posting blogs with content relevant to the theme of Data: Agent of Change. In an effort multitask while also celebrating Love Data Week, the Research & Data Services Unit is using the week to accomplish several goals. First, we will use the week to highlight the new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy that went into effect on January 25th. We will release a document entitled “The New NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing and What it Means for You at the University of Cincinnati” to the UC community. We intend for this comprehensive document to serve as a great resource for those seeking funding from the NIH. Second, we will highlight ICPSR and several datasets that relate to the week’s theme of Data as an Agent of Change. These datasets have been used to create change and to bring awareness to topics/individuals/groups who have been historically marginalized. You can find links to these datasets below. Third, we will discuss how GIS (Geographic Information Systems) can be used for social justice, and we will provide information on two websites with information concerning timely and relevant content relating to the Black Lives Matter and Police Shootings. Lastly, we will have an interactive event in the Health Sciences Library that will engage participants on Scholar and how it can be used to address the new NIH Policy (see Liblog Post). More information on this latter event can be found below. 

Love Data Week LiBlog Post Schedule 

 February 13: NIH Policy Document 

February 14: Franz Boas’s Immigrant Study and the Research Center for Minority Data (ICPSR datasets) 

February 15: Esri Resources, Using GIS for Social Justice 

February 16: ICPSR Transgender Survey 

February 17: Data for Black Lives and Fatal Force Police Shootings Database 

 On February 14th, we will host Scholar@UC and the new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy Informational and Chat. Faculty, staff, and student researchers are encouraged to interact with Scholar developers and learn how they can simultaneously meet grant and publisher requirements while also contributing to the intellectual output of UC. Participants will receive a free Scholar@UC coffee mug filled with Lindor Truffles (available while supplies last). 

UC Resources to help you navigate the new NIH Policy

The New NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing and What it Means for You at the University of Cincinnati 

Tiffany Grant and Amy Koshoffer 

Co-leaders UC Libraries Research & Data Services 

NIH Policy UC_Resources document

Introduction 

“Data without context are inert, but data within contexts become information, knowledge (1).” 

Researchers submitting for funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on or after January 25, 2023, should be aware of the requirement to submit a Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP) for any NIH-funded or conducted research that will generate scientific data. Previously, the NIH only required grants with funding of $500,000/year or greater in direct costs to provide a short explanation of how and when data resulting from the grant would be publicly shared. However, this new mandate requires all grant applications or renewals to include a detailed plan for data management and sharing for the funded period. This requirement is mandated through the Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing that emphasizes the importance of good data management practices and establishes the expectation for maximizing the appropriate sharing of scientific data generated from NIH-funded or conducted research. The NIH defines scientific data as the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as of sufficient quality to validate and replicate research findings, regardless of whether the data are used to support scholarly publications. The NIH has long championed the proper management and sharing of scientific data to accelerate biomedical discovery through the promotion of data reuse for future research studies.  

The NIH encourages data management and sharing that is consistent with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) Data Principles. The FAIR Data Principles are a concise set of principles designed by representatives from academia, industry, funding agencies, and publishers, that serve to support and enhance reuse of data (2). In the first formal paper documenting the FAIR Principles, the authors suggest that good data management is critical not only for knowledge, discovery, and innovation, but also for the integration and reuse of data post-publication. The FAIR principles refer very specifically to data that is “open”. Open data is simply defined as “data that anyone can access, use, and share (3)”. The NIH has a long-standing commitment to open data to increase the utility of data produced by federal funding and has done so through mandating data management and sharing initiatives. Proper management and sharing of research data have numerous benefits to researchers. Authors found that articles that include statements that link to data in a repository were associated with an up to 25% higher citation impact (4). In another study, the authors showed a 69% increase in citations when data was made publicly available, and this increase was independent of impact factor, publication date, or the author’s country of origin (5). Citations are a type of currency in the scholarly community, as they can be directly tied to research funding, promotion, and notoriety in the respective field by facilitating increased visibility of the author’s works. Moreover, allowing for greater access to data can foster collaboration opportunities, increase transparency in research, and maximize the reuse of data all while meeting funder and publisher requirements.  

 This document will serve as a single resource for researchers at the University of Cincinnati to learn about the new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy that went into effect on January 25, 2023. Researchers can use this document and the embedded links to find information on what is required of them as they prepare to submit NIH grant proposals and what resources UC has available to them to facilitate the process. Throughout this document, researchers will find links to information and tools that will aid them as they prepare Data Management and Sharing Plans as well as information about available data repositories for data sharing.  

Continue reading

Aja Bettencourt-McCarthy joins UC Libraries as Science & Engineering Global Services Librarian

Aja Bettencourt-McCarthyAja Bettencourt-McCarthy joined the University of Cincinnati Libraries on February 1, 2023 as the science & engineering global services librarian.

Aja holds an MLIS degree from University of Washington and Bachelor’s degrees (French, community and regional development) from the University of California, Davis.

Aja may be a familiar face to many as she comes to UC Libraries from the Faculty Enrichment Center, located in the Walter C. Langsam Library, where she was the manager of special projects and programs.  Aja brings a wealth of experience in science and engineering academic librarianship, including previous positions in instruction and public services. Prior to arriving at UC, Aja was the STEM instruction librarian at the University of Kentucky (UK). Before UK, she worked as instruction coordinator / head of public services at the Oregon Institute of Technology’s Library.

Welcome, Aja to UC Libraries!

Announcing the 2021/22 UC Libraries Annual Progress Report: A Year of New Beginnings…

annual progress report header

Announcing the 2021-22 University of Cincinnati Libraries Annual Progress Report: A Year of New Beginnings…a year that saw the broad return of students, faculty and staff to campus for fall semester. The transition from virtual to in-person was an extensive process as library spaces were re-evaluated to allow for a safe return to working and studying on campus. We welcomed students, faculty and staff back to campus with refreshed spaces, enhanced safety protocols for social distancing and a revived appreciation for working together in person.

The year also saw the announcement of our renewed Strategic Framework: NEXT Directions. The University of Cincinnati’s NEXT Lives Here Strategic Directions focus on the core areas of Academic Excellence, Urban Impact and the Innovation Agenda in order to engage people and ideas – and to transform the world. The University of Cincinnati Libraries is key to what’s NEXT.

In this Annual Report, we look back at the top News & Events, applaud Staff Accomplishments & Milestones and look at the Libraries By the Numbers and Financially.

While we celebrate the accomplishments of the past academic year, we also continue to move forward in pursuit of our vision of being the globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university – positioning ourselves as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation and scholarly endeavor on campus and beyond. I invite you to be a part of our journey – a journey led by our Guiding Principles of Investment in our People; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and Digital Transformation.

The Annual Progress Report is available online via Sway. Happy Reading!

Xin Gu Joins RDS Team as GIS Research Consultant

The UC Libraries Research and Data Services Unit is pleased to welcome Xin Gu to our team as the GIS Research Consultant.

Xin Gu is a doctoral candidate from the Department of Geography and GIS at the University of Cincinnati (UC). Before joining UC, he received master’s degrees in Criminal Justice and GIS, respectively. His current research examines the impact of business closure and mobility reduction during COVID-19 on crime. Xin has several research papers published in Cities, Social Science Computer Review, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, and ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information. He also serves as a research fellow for the Institute for Research in Sensing and a GIS research consultant for the Geology-Mathematics-Physics library at UC, enabling him to spread geographical knowledge to the rest of the campus and beyond. In his spare time, he likes to play badminton and practice Yoga.

His consultation hours will be Tues, Wed and Thurs from 10:30 to 5 pm. Xin is here to help you understand how to use GIS software, think about project plans, and find data for your project.  He can share information, offer advice, and even partner on certain projects (on a case by case basis). Please come by the Data & GIS Collab, located in the Geology Math and Physics Library (240 Braunstein Hall).

Image of Man standing next to a sign.  The sign reads Data and GIS Collab

UC Libraries closed Monday, Jan. 16 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. from LIFE Magazine

UC Libraries will be closed Monday, Jan. 16 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.The Libraries will resume normal hours on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Want to read up on Martin Luther King, Jr., his impact and legacy, and how you can make a difference? Check out these library resources and the Racial Justice Resources for Activists, Advocates and Allies Research Guide.