Posted January 9, 2026 by Office of Research and Innovation
The following is a guest column from Alian Kasabian, research data and security liaison with the Office of Research and Innovation. The “Year of Data” is a yearlong campaign to bring attention to campus resources and educational resources related to research data. The campaign kicked off in September and runs through April 2026, with monthly topics related to research data management and the research data life cycle.
“Wow! I didn’t know UNL had that!”
We hear that frequently when talking about university resources. It makes sense – whether this is your first semester at UNL and you’re trying to navigate your job in a new place, or you’ve been here for decades and seen tools come and go, it is hard to keep up. There are also different levels: resources available to everyone, such as enterprise software, and those limited to specific departments or research labs. The Year of Data theme for January is “In Our Toolkit,” focused on highlighting existing resources that investigators may not be familiar with. In this new year, we wish you happy researching!
Jan. 21 data services webinar
We encourage research personnel to attend an upcoming webinar featuring representatives from three data service providers who hold data, as well as partner with researchers to collect their own data. The webinar is Jan. 21, noon to 1 p.m., with presenters from the Bureau of Sociological Research, the Nebraska Statewide Workforce and Educational Reporting System and the Nebraska Rural Poll. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link.
Research data micro-credential
A Research Data Life Cycle Micro-credential will be available by the end of January. This micro-credential is focused on topics surrounding research data management over the data life cycle, with the goal of supporting best practices, policies, requirements and services pertaining to research data. Hosted in Canvas at no cost to UNL users, participants will receive a digital engagement badge for completing the requirements. This is a flexible program, with approximately three hours of required content and 12 elective hours organized under the categories of basics, software/analysis and data futures.
The eligible sessions will include a mix of videos, webinars and live events from the Engineering and Computing Education Core, Holland Computing Center, University Libraries, Methodology and Evaluation Research Core Facility, Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics, and R&I. The target audience is anyone involved in research at UNL. You do not need to pursue the full micro-credential to watch or participate in any of the sessions.
Research resources
At the beginning of the fall semester, we created a small zine of research resources, which included QR codes for the Research Data website. Organized around the research data life cycle, the zine highlighted the following resources. To obtain copies of the zine, please contact Alian Kasabian.
Foundations:
- Responsible Conduct of Research training is required for anyone who has or applies for federal funding and covers many federal and institutional requirements. This training is available in Bridge.
- Research Compliance, Integrity and Security website, which includes guidance topics, FAQs, videos and templates for common documents and forms for various topics, including research data and security.
Planning:
- The Data Management and Planning Tool provides a template for entering data management information in the desired format for many federal funders.
- The Office of Proposal Development provides support for researchers seeking external grant funds, from providing advice and reviewing proposals to coordinating expert external reviewers with subject matter expertise.
- Many departments and colleges have support for research, which may include experience with and/or specialized knowledge of funders and funding mechanisms.
Collecting and analyzing:
- The Data Storage Finder is a tool for identifying supported data storage options that meet the needs of your project.
- UNL and the NU System provide access to various software. Complete information is available on the software support page. Information will be coming soon about a software directory.
- UNL has more than three dozen Research Core Facilities, which provide centralized resources for the campus research community and beyond. From data collection and analytic services to field stations and lab equipment, UNL has a wide range of tools and services to support research.
Sharing and stewarding:
- University Libraries provide support for researchers on multiple fronts. Far more than just a collection of materials, the Libraries also provide support for persistent digital identifiers like ORCID and have expertise in crafting data management and sharing plans. Experts can assist with data curation and sharing data. The Libraries also host the Digital Commons, an institutional repository for digital materials, and UNL’s new data repository, SANDY.
- R&I has many resources to help researchers share and protect their data. The zine provides a guide on how to work with R&I units on data-related issues.
