The Data Type Registry is a project that aims to solve the issues that exists around information management system operability, and focusing specifically on enabling data creators to parse, understand, share, and reuse data created by others. The project states that “the goal of the Data Type Registry effort is to allow data producers to record the implicit details of their data in the form of Data Types and to associate those Types, each unique identified, with different instances of datasets. Data consumers can then resolve the Type identifiers to Type records for gaining knowledge of the implicit assumptions in order to understand and process the data without additional support from data producers.” The project not only focuses on file types, but also on the type of data represented in a dataset and the meanings and connotations behind each dataset value.
CEDAR provides data creators from within the scientific discipline with the ability to: 1) Create user-friendly, shareable forms for collecting metadata, with nested form elements, 2) Build reusable form components that can be shared and published in libraries, 3) Collaborate with other users and groups of users to build forms and fill in forms with metadata, 4) Publish the forms for others to use to enter metadata, and 5) Submit data and metadata to NCBI repositories directly.
The Data Curation Profiles is a toolkit that provides librarians, professors, researchers, and any information expert with the resources necessary to describe the characteristics of a data set, including but not limited to: the origin of the data collection, key elements of the data, and the life cycle of that data that exists within the research project. This toolkit was designed to address the issues with researchers sharing data with others, facilitating scholarly communication. According to the creators of the Data Curation Profiles, this toolkit “is meant to help launch discussions between librarians and other information professionals at their institutions.” This tool enables data creators to: 1) Guide a discussion about data with other researchers, 2) Gain insight into areas of attention in data management, 3) Assess information needs related to data collections, and 4) Create a starting point for curating and preserving data.
The DMP Tool provides a researcher with the necessary resources to create a data management plan according to the guidelines for a specific funding agency. Moreover, this tool supplies a detailed, step-by-step guide for data management, and any information required to understand the resources and services that are available at certain institutions so that the researcher can thoroughly complete the data managements requirements to receive a grant from the institution. The DMP Tool can also be used by Librarians to inform researchers of the various data management processes, and even enables an individual to create a unique data management plan if necessary. Data management plans have become an integral requirement for grant applications, as several institutions require some form of a data management plan (DMP) before a researcher can apply to receive a financial grant. The DMP Tool is an open-source, free, online application, and it complies with funder requirements.