Data Services at JMU Libraries

We can help you plan how you will organize, document, store, and share data for a research project or grant application.

What we do:

• Review and provide feedback on data management plans (DMPs)
• Advise on file formats, metadata, storage, preservation, and data sharing
• Provide templates, examples, and guidance for tools such as DMPTool
• Connect you with additional resources through our Data Management Guide

What we don’t do:

• Write DMPs on your behalf
• Guarantee funder approval
• Host research data outside of supported platforms (e.g., Open Science Framework)

We can help you create systems that make your data easier to find, understand, reuse, and share with others.

What we do:

• Recommend file naming conventions and folder structures
• Provide guidance on version control and documentation practices
• Assist with creating README files and other supporting documentation
• Advise on storage options, including considerations for sensitive data

What we don’t do:

• Manage your files or data
• Provide data storage services

We can help you prepare data for publication, sharing, and long-term access.

What we do:

• Recommend repositories such as Open Science Framework (OSF), ICPSR, and other general repositories and discipline-specific repositories
• Explain licensing and data-sharing options
• Advise on preparing data and metadata for deposit
• Guide you through repository submission processes

What we don’t do:

• Upload or manage your data for you
• Provide long-term data hosting services

We can help researchers and students build skills in finding, evaluating, using, and citing data.

What we do:

• Offer workshops, classroom instruction, and self-paced guides
• Teach strategies for finding datasets
• Discuss data quality, bias, and documentation strategies
• Provide guidance on responsible data use and citation best practices

What we don’t do:

• Provide access to paid datasets
• Offer statistical tutoring
• Perform data cleaning, analysis, or interpretation

We can help you learn tools and practices that support transparent, collaborative, and reproducible research.

What we do:

• Provide guidance on setting up and organizing OSF projects
• Assist with file organization and collaborator management
• Explain integrations with tools such as GitHub and Google Drive
• Discuss preregistration and reproducible research workflows

What we don’t do:

• Build or manage projects on your behalf
• Certify reproducibility
• Guarantee compliance with publisher or funder requirements

We can help you understand how ethical, legal, and institutional requirements shape how you collect, manage, and share your data.

What we do:

• Discuss informed consent and data-sharing considerations
• Introduce strategies for protecting privacy and confidentiality
• Explain connections between IRB requirements and data management planning
• Provide guidance on basic anonymization concepts

What we don’t do:

• Make IRB determinations
• Write IRB applications or protocols
• De-identify data for research projects

We can help you explore tools and workflows that support research data management across disciplines.

What we do:

• Recommend tools such as NVivo, R, and Qualtrics
• Discuss workflows for organizing, cleaning, and documenting data
• Advise on creating codebooks, audit trails, and other research documentation
• Share best practices for managing qualitative and quantitative data

What we don’t do:

• Conduct statistical analyses or qualitative coding
• Complete research tasks on your behalf
• Provide project-based data analysis services
• For statistical consulting, we can refer you to appropriate campus partners