During the last several years, the amount of scientific research data being published by universities, including UAB, has increased significantly due to a unique combination of new federal mandates and updates to publisher requirements. There has never been a centrally located resource available across the UAB enterprise to collect those datasets — until now, with the creation of the new Research Data Catalog from the Office of Scholarly Communication in UAB Libraries.
According to DataCite, a nonprofit organization that tracks research outputs, data publication has increased tenfold during the last decade.
From 2022 to 2023 alone, the number of newly registered DOIs — or unique strings of numbers and letters that identify documents like books, articles and government reports — in repositories tracked by the DataCite network grew from 7,745,931 to 18,049,694. That equals an increase of more than 10.3 million records in a single year.
Hosted in the UAB Digital Commons, the Research Data Catalog is an online collection of records describing datasets generated by UAB researchers; rather than directly including or storing datasets, the catalog functions as a directory to help users discover UAB-deposited datasets in external repositories like Zenodo and Dryad.
Before creating the catalog, the lack of a central repository to search across dataset records was a severe hindrance to data discovery at UAB, said Marla Hertz, research data management librarian for the OSC.
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"Anyone who's tried to locate the raw data underlying scientific research likely knows the pain that can come with that process. We desperately need better tools to make the discovery of data easier, and we think this new catalog is just the thing to do that.” |
“A recent report from Digital Science on the state of open data showed that 75% of researchers feel they have received no support with planning, managing and sharing their research data,” Hertz explained. “The OSC helps bridge that gap. And anyone who's tried to locate the raw data underlying scientific research likely knows the pain that can come with that process. We desperately need better tools to make the discovery of data easier, and we think this new catalog is just the thing to do that.”
Currently, the catalog has more than 100 dataset records deposited in Dryad and Zenodo repositories by UAB researchers spanning from 2012-2024, as well as custom records for unique, UAB-exclusive datasets, such as data from the REGARDS study, the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistics Center, and CFAR.
Who can use the catalog?
The catalog is available open access through the UAB Digital Commons, UAB’s digital repository maintained by UAB Libraries — meaning it is accessible to anyone, anytime, across the globe. However, several of UAB’s constituent groups could find the Research Data Catalog particularly useful, Hertz says.
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Learn more about the new catalog in this webinar: |
- Researchers can find their own data in the catalog and identify collaborators and methodology expertise.
- Administrators can track and report on data outputs, plus monitor compliance to open data requirements.
- Educators can find and use datasets for course instruction.
- Students can explore different areas of research and identify experts in fields of interest.
“The data catalog has something for everyone,” Hertz explained. “I often hear from researchers who struggle to figure out where to preserve their data. They ask me, ‘Where do other people at UAB share their research data?’ Now you can figure it out by browsing through the new data catalog.”
Learn more about the new catalog in this webinar:
Where Does UAB Deposit Their Research Data? Enhancing Data Discovery with a New Data Catalog — 11 a.m. Feb. 11, register in advance
A framework for success
Creating and maintaining the Research Data Catalog was a key goal in UAB’s Research Strategic Initiative: Growth with Purpose, the enterprise’s road map to multiply the positive impact of our research and reach $1 billion in research expenditures. (Learn more about Growth with Purpose in a town hall scheduled March 19.) Hertz is a member of the initiative’s working group focused on research data management, co-chaired by Ralph Zottola, assistant vice president for Research Computing in UAB Information Technology, and Suzanne Judd, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics and interim chair in the Department of Health Behavior in the School of Public Health, the goal of which is to enhance research data management systems to support the growing research enterprise.
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UAB researchers who have published datasets and would like their information included in the catalog can submit a dataset entry to the Research Data Catalog using this form. |
Going forward, the catalog will continue to be populated with records to datasets from Figshare and ICPSR, and the Office of Scholarly Communication is open to suggestions for other data repositories to prioritize; contact Marla Hertz mihertz@uab.edu or Amy Reese reesea@uab.edu with requests. A FAQ guide also is available.
The OSC team also will continue to add custom records for unique, large-scale UAB data projects, such as electronic medical record data discovery using DataLENS, and the i2b2 data discovery tool — both from UAB’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science — and more. The catalog also will update annually to add new records from the existing list of data repositories.
“The data catalog can help break down information silos across the UAB enterprise,” Hertz said. “We hope researchers use it as a networking opportunity to find collaborators and methodology experts.”
UAB researchers who have published datasets and would like their information included in the catalog can submit a dataset entry to the Research Data Catalog using this form.