Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are becoming increasingly recognized by researchers across a wide range of disciplines for their use in answering questions, solving problems, and making decisions. Despite the powerful tools and potential benefits associated with GIS, researchers often perceive barriers to entry when it comes to learning new skills in this area, similar to challenges encountered when trying to learn any new software or technology. The aim of this workshop is to lower those barriers for researchers new to GIS by focusing on some of the most common tasks and essential skills for getting started with GIS data management and visualization. In this workshop, participants will:
- Gain hands-on experience using ArcGIS Desktop, the industry-leading GIS software
- Learn best practices for describing, preparing, organizing, and managing their GIS data
- Perform fundamental GIS tasks including acquiring data, projecting data, joining data, and creating map layouts for visualization
The software that will be used during this workshop is available in the Research Commons Computer Lab. Due to the lab’s capacity, this workshop will be limited to 12 participants.
Who: OSU faculty, staff, and students from all disciplines
When: Wednesday, October 24, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Where: Research Commons, 3rd floor of 18th Avenue Library
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are becoming increasingly recognized by researchers across a wide range of disciplines for their use in answering questions, solving problems, and making decisions. Despite the powerful tools and potential benefits associated with GIS, researchers often perceive barriers to entry when it comes to learning new skills in this area, similar to challenges encountered when trying to learn any new software or technology. The aim of this workshop is to lower those barriers for researchers new to GIS by focusing on some of the most common tasks and essential skills for getting started with GIS data management and visualization. In this workshop, participants will:
- Gain hands-on experience using ArcGIS Desktop, the industry-leading GIS software
- Learn best practices for describing, preparing, organizing, and managing their GIS data
- Perform fundamental GIS tasks including acquiring data, projecting data, joining data, and creating map layouts for visualization
The software that will be used during this workshop is available in the Research Commons Computer Lab. Due to the lab’s capacity, this workshop will be limited to 12 participants. A second session of this workshop is offered on October 24. If you would prefer to register for that session instead, you can do so here: https://library.osu.edu/researchcommons/event/gis-research2-1024
Who: OSU faculty, staff, and students from all disciplines
When: Thursday, September 20, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Where: Research Commons, 3rd floor of 18th Avenue Library
This event is part of Data Analytics Month @ Ohio State. Learn more at: go.osu.edu/datamonth18.
We will address some of the similarities and differences between the funding processes for federal/state agencies and private foundations. Topics include:
- Best practices for engaging with sponsors
- Navigating the research administration/proposal development and submission process
- Drafting a compelling narrative
- Seeking funding; Including the SPIN Funding Opportunities system and other funding resources
- Examples of writing that is both persuasive and clear
Presenters include:
Leanda Rix, Executive Director, Foundation Relations
Jeff Agnoli, Office of Research
Sharon Sadvari, Data Services Specialist for Outreach and Education
Who: OSU faculty, postdocs, staff, and graduate students
When: Tuesday, July 24, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Where: Research Commons, 3rd floor of 18th Avenue Library
This hands-on workshop will emphasize the dos and don’ts of data management with a focus on qualitative social science data. The core of this workshop will focus on the data management plan (DMP) and participants will either develop their own DMP or learn how to develop existing DMPs throughout the workshop. The workshop will cover topics throughout the data lifecycle, from planning data management to sharing the data, with a focus on practical, hands-on advice.
About the speaker:
Sebastian Karcher is the Associate Director of the Qualitative Data Repository at Syracuse University. His main research interests are in qualitative data management, curation, and the integration of data tools into scholarly workflows. He is an active contributor to several scholarly open source projects, including Zotero and the Citation Style Language, as well as a founding editor of the emerging Author Carpentry series of lessons. He holds a PhD in political science from Northwestern University. Sebastian has published in both social science journals such as International Science Quarterly and Socio-Economic Review and information science journals such as IFLA Journal and Data Science Journal.
Who: OSU faculty, postdocs, staff, and students
When: Monday, July 23, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Where: 250 Townshend Hall, 1885 Neil Avenue
Please note, this hands-on workshop is currently at capacity and interested participants are being added to the waitlist. Waitlisted participants will be notified of an available slot by July 20. The workshop facilitator is also having a lecture event called “Qualitative Research in the Age of Transparency” that is still open.
I am very excited to announce that on February 28, 2018 the DMPTool was updated and has some amazing new features! The DMPTool provides researchers with templates to create the high quality data management plans that are required when submitting a grant proposal to federal funding agencies.
Highlighted Features
Comments
Researchers now have the option to comment on data management plans rather than directly editing the plan text. This allows researchers to easily coordinate their plan with their collaborators.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Go to dmptool.org.
- Click on “Get Started” or “Sign In.”

- Select sign in option 1.

- Search for Ohio State University in the search box.

- Log in with your OSU name.number.

- If you have never logged in before you will be taken to your profile where you can verify your information and add your ORCID ID.

- From your dashboard, select “Create Plan.”

- Fill out the plan details including the title of the project, the primary research organization, and the funding agency.
- Select “Create Plan.”

- Fill out the Project Details section, including the name of the data contact person, if this is not the same as the Principal Investigator.

- Select the plan guidance information you want to see. This will always default to the guidance tailored to OSU researchers and the general DMPTool guidance. However, if you are collaborating with a researcher at another institution and want to see their guidance language, you can search for the institution and add it. Click Submit after making the necessary changes.

- Click on Plan Overview to get an outline of the topics you will need to address in your selected template.
- After reviewing the instructions, click on Write Plan.

- Click on “Expand All” or the individual + symbols to open up the text editing area.

- Answer the questions in the text boxes, referring to the guidance language and resources as necessary, and saving your responses as you go.

- Click on the Share tab. Set the visibility for your plan, add collaborators, and request expert feedback from the Data Management Services team at OSU.

- When your plan is finalized click on Download. Select the download and format settings, and click on “Download Plan.”

If you have any questions about the DMPTool or your data management plans, please consider using the Request Feedback button or contact us at datamanagement@osu.edu for personalized assistance.