Princeton University’s Princeton Research Data Service (PRDS) launched a new website this spring geared toward introducing the campus community to its data management services, training programs, and research data infrastructure for Princeton researchers. 

A joint effort between Princeton University Library (PUL), the Office of the Dean for Research, and the Office of Information Technology, PRDS helps researchers at Princeton store, manage, retain, and curate digital research data, and works to make that data available to the research community and general public. 

New to the website is a “services” section, which outlines the core ways PRDS supports researchers, which includes offering consultations with one of the team’s experts. 

PRDS also has training programs that run throughout the year. Currently, researchers can attend the Research Data Stewardship Program (RDSP). Now in its fourth year, the program teaches Princeton researchers how to proactively manage their research data and prepare it for publication. 

“In addition to RDSP, we also host data management workshops that are open to the Princeton community, Love Data Week (held annually every February), and Wintersession classes with hands-on data-related activities,” said Meghan Testerman, Head of PRDS and PUL’s Open Research Scholarship Librarian. The group also provides custom workshops to the Princeton research community. 

The site also features the Princeton Data Management Handbook, a public guide to data management best practices and key considerations from the initial planning stages to the publication and preservation of data. 

“Research data is only as good as its ability to be understood,” said Testerman. “Research data that is publicly available but doesn’t have a README to explain what it is, or sufficient documentation, or interoperable file formats, or isn’t accessible, is not delivering its full potential as a public good.”