Resources and services in support of data management, data sharing, data visualization, computation, and informatics.
Providing Education and Support in Data Management and Sharing
In partnership with the Institute for Informatics, Data Science and Biostatistics (I2DB), Becker Library provided training and services in data management and sharing during FY23. The main focus areas during this year were the new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy and REDCap.
REDCap and MDClone
REDCap support and education remain large areas of focus for Becker Library, most notably in the areas of electronic consent (e-consent), REDCap version migration, and general REDCap use.
Becker Library offered more than 15 REDCap workshops, with nearly 500 faculty, staff and trainees in attendance. Recordings from previous Becker Library REDCap sessions were also used extensively, with 25 REDCap workshop recordings viewed more than 3,500 times during the fiscal year.
In addition, more than 200 REDCap consultations were provided during the fiscal year.
In total, 10 MDClone sessions were offered in FY23 to broad WUSM audiences and in individual course settings, with more than 100 individuals in attendance.
NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy
With the new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy going into effect in the second half of FY23, numerous educational sessions covering the new policy and related subjects were delivered to various audiences, including individual labs, research groups, departments, senior leadership, and the general campus community. These sessions attracted over 900 participants across nearly 30 events.
A new Data Management and Sharing website was launched in FY23 to provide researchers with a wealth of curated information on the new policy and a variety of tools to help them get started.
Becker Library staff also provided extensive support and guidance to researchers writing their first data management and sharing plan during FY23 as required by the new policy. Becker Library staff reviewed close to 70 data management and sharing plans for WUSM investigators prior to grant submission during this period.
Love Data Week
In partnership with University Libraries and the Institute for Informatics, Data Science and Biostatistics, Becker Library organized and taught a series of sessions on topics related to data management and sharing, data analysis, and data visualization in celebration of Love Data Week 2023 (February 13-17, 2023).
The highlight of the week was a keynote panel presentation given by leaders from the NIH including Cindy Danielson, PhD, Associate Director, Systems Integration in the Office of Research Reporting and Analysis, Lisa Federer, PhD, Acting Director, National Library of Medicine Office of Strategic Initiatives, and Taunton Paine, MA, Director of the Scientific Data Sharing Policy Division. The panel presentation focused on the new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy and led to a lively question and answer session with roughly 175 attendees.
Love Data Week 2023 also featured a variety of other informative sessions focused on data sharing and reuse, REDCap and MDClone, ethical sharing of qualitative data, and tools for writing a data management and sharing plan.
Providing Education and Support in Research Computing and Software
Biomedical researchers increasingly need basic programming skills to conduct their research. In response to this growing need, Becker Library continued to partner with the Institute for Informatics, Data Science and Biostatistics in FY23 to organize and teach hands-on workshops covering a variety of research computing topics related to R, Python and MATLAB. In addition, Becker Library continued a series of introductory computing basics workshops in collaboration with WashU IT’s Research Infrastructure Services (RIS) to reduce the barriers around use of the RIS Scientific Compute platform.
Workshop attendees included faculty, staff, students, and trainees from several departments at WUSM, with more than 900 in attendance across the almost 25 workshops offered during the fiscal year.
Becker Library staff also provided research computing consultation services to support needs in this area, conducting close to 125 consultations during FY23, covering a variety of research computing topics.
Additionally, consultation services were available to assist researchers in finding specific software resources, navigating the access process, and identifying training materials. Becker Library staff conducted 100 software consultations during the fiscal year.
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