Would any phase of your research project be enhanced by the magic of numbers and data? Or maybe you're planning on collecting your own data but want to be sure to avoid reinventing the wheel if at all possible? Did you know that there are many secondary datasets of excellent quality out there just waiting to be discovered and used in research projects like yours? In this 1 hour session, you can expect to learn how to find existing data or datasets that might be of interest for your research, where to locate learning resources for working with secondary data or datasets, and what are some of the merits and challenges of working with secondary data. Who knows, maybe your perfect match is out there!

By the end of this session, participants will: 

• Be able to explain some of the merits and challenges of working with secondary data.
• Learn strategies useful in locating secondary data and datasets on topics of interest, including how to locate open data portals, how to search the literature for existing datasets, and how to access certain restricted datasets.
• Know where to find learning resources for working with existing data or datasets, including where to find data extraction, data mining, data visualization, and data citation learning resources.

Presenter Bio(s): In her role as Data Librarian, Julie Marcoux helps Dal students, faculty, and researchers find the data they need for their projects. She is also a member of the Computer Science Library Team based at the Killam Memorial Library.