Guides: Data Sets for Research: Home

Data versus Data Set

Data sets are a series of data records that can be process. They are typically computer files that can be downloaded and be manipulated or analyzed.

How to Cite Data

Data Citations
From the Inter-University Consortium for Political And Social Research, the bare bones of how to cite data (along with some good diagrams of why it's important in the research cycle).
How to Cite Datasets and Link to Publications | Digital Curation Centre
From the Digital Curation Centre in the UK, this is a more extensive guide to citing data and includes examples in various citation styles.

How to Write About Data

How to Write a Lay Summary | Digital Curation Centre
From the Digital Curation Centre this guide (in HTML and PDF formats) will help you explain your data to the educated public and laypersons.

Guides from Other Libraries

Several other libraries have compiled guides to sources of both static data and datasets which you may wish to explore. I've listed some of them below. These guides may link to resources that are available only to students, faculty, and staff at that instituition. Be sure to search the title of any such sources in OneSearch or our Electronic Resources Directory to see if Baylor subscribes to these resources as well.

Start - Statistics and Data Sets - Research Guides at California State University, Long Beach
Includes data and data sources, including sources from the state of California.

Help with Digital Scholarship

Enhance your research and classes by exploring datasets using digital research tools and techniques.

Go to the digital scholarship page http://blogs.baylor.edu/digitalscholarship/ for more information.

Some websites which provide datasets also have tools that you can use to analyze and visualize their datasets

Google Public Data Explorer
Google Public Data Explorer is a new experimental product designed by Google allowing people to mash up data using line graphs, bar graphs, maps and bubble charts. The visualizations are dynamic, so you can watch them move over time, change topics, highlight different entries and change the scale.
Data Visualizer from the World Bank
DataBank is an analysis and visualisation tool that contains collections of time series data on a variety of topics. You can create your own queries; generate tables, charts, and maps; and easily save, embed, and share them. Watch the tutorial and read the FAQs.
Data Planet
Provides statistical data from U.S. government publications, state and private sources, and international organizations. Conduct search by keyword(s) and limit results by publishing organization, geographic region, local area, or broad subject. Data may be further restricted by demographic features (age, marital status, industry, etc.)

Help with Statistics at Baylor

Baylor's Center for Statistical Consulting will provide advice and assistance for short-term research projects undertaken by Baylor faculty and students. They can help with:

Designing experiments and initial plans for data collection.
Providing advice on statistical methodology for the analysis of data.
Assisting researchers in the interpretation of statistical results.
Providing assistance for writing computer programs, particularly, SAS programs.

Their home page (linked above) provides info on timing and planning your work with them and a link to their Request for Assistance form. Please consider contacting them as soon as you know you will be conducting statistical research.

Help with Data Management

What

DMPs are short documents that describe the data that you generate during your research and how that data will be preserved and available to others both in the short-term while you are working on your project and in the long-term after the project is over.

Why

Data needs to be preserved and available to others for accountability, reproducibility, and reuse. Depositing a dataset in a repository also allows it to be cited properly.

Where

Digital data files can be deposited in subject repositories or in the Texas Data Repository (http://data.tdl.org/).

How

Use the DMP Tool to get started writing your DMP.
http://dmptool.org

Who

Contact Billie Peterson-Lugo and Christina Chan-Park to review your DMP.

When

Please give us seven business days to review your DMP. Please send us your abstract/summary and methods sections along with your DMP.

More information on the importance of making data available can be found on the Texas Data Repository Information Sheet For Researchers and the Texas Data Repository Information Sheet For Librarians.

Data Sets for Research