Data Workshops & Classroom Instruction

JMU Libraries offers workshops and course-integrated instruction to help students, faculty, and staff build confidence working with data at any stage of the research process. Whether you’re introducing foundational concepts, developing data management skills, or exploring responsible data practices, we can tailor instruction to your goals and audience.

Visit our Events Calendar to see what open workshops are available or contact our Data Services Librarian to request an instruction session for your class, department, or research team.

Classroom Instruction

We collaborate with instructors to integrate data skills into courses, assignments, and research projects. Instruction can take many forms, including:

One-time class visits
Course-integrated workshops
Assignment-based instruction
Research project support
Multi-session or scaffolded instruction throughout a semester

Our goal is to help students develop practical data skills that support their academic and research work.

Workshops

In addition to course-based instruction, we offer workshops for departments, research groups, and campus units, as well as open sessions available to the JMU community throughout the year.

Workshops may range from brief introductions to hands-on sessions focused on specific topics or tools. Content is flexible and can be adapted to disciplinary contexts, learning objectives, and participant experience levels.

Topics We Commonly Teach

Examples of topics include:

Finding and accessing datasets, including disciplinary, government, and open data sources
Evaluating data quality, bias, and documentation
Data management fundamentals, including file organization, naming conventions, and documentation practices
Creating Data Management Plans (DMPs)
Data sharing, repositories, and data citation
Ethical considerations, including privacy, consent, and responsible data use
Introduction to tools such as Open Science Framework (OSF)
Reproducibility and research transparency practices

Examples of Past Workshops

Getting Started with Data Management
Writing a Data Management Plan with DMPTool
Finding and Evaluating Data for Research Projects
Organizing Your Data for Long-Term Use
Introduction to OSF for Research Collaboration
Data Ethics and Responsible Data Use

Request Instruction

Interested in bringing data instruction into your course, program, department, or research group?

We are happy to work with you to design a session or series that aligns with your learning objectives, audience, and schedule. If you’re unsure whether your topic is a good fit, we’d be glad to discuss ideas and explore options with you.

To request instruction, contact our Data Services Librarian. When possible, please submit requests at least two weeks in advance.