How can we help

Data Services provides free consultation upon request to members of the JHU community. Contact us at dataservices@jhu.edu or request a consultation in any of the areas listed below. We also cover many of these topics in through our regularly offered training and workshops. 

Schedule a Consultation

Data Archiving

Data Services operates the JHU Data Archive and provides consulting to help you prepare your project data for longer-term access by you and your research community. We can help you deposit your data into the JHU Data Archive or into another preservation and sharing option. To learn more, visit our Archiving page. 

Prepare a Data Management Plan (DMP)

Data management plans should address how data will be managed, disseminated and preserved over the course of a research project. We recommend using the DMPTool, a free, web-based editor, to help you efficiently write your plan. The DMPTool contains funder-specific data management plan templates, as well as JHU-specific information on topics such as data management policies, resources, and individuals at JHU who may be able to help. Sign in under “JHU” and use this Quick Start Guide to get started. We encourage you to send us a draft of your plan through the “Request Feedback” feature within the DMPTool for a quick review (responses usually provided within a business day).

Discovering and Accessing Data

Our library offers access to a wealth of data collections from government sources, proprietary databases, not-for-profit agencies, and other institutions.  Data Services can help you navigate these and other publicly available sources. We can also help you with the process when using a data set requires a data security plan or special policy considerations. For more information about available data and statistics please see the library’s Data and Statistics page. 

Using GIS and Geospatial Data

Our GIS specialists provide consultation on both using GIS software, as well as accessing, analyzing and visualizing geospatial data in your teaching, coursework, and research. Data Services provides free access to the Esri suite of ArcGIS software for members of the JHU community and we are available for individual and group consultations to help you find the best tools and resources to fit your research needs. You can also visit the library’s GIS and Maps guide to learn more. 

Organizing and Sharing Your Projects Using the Open Science Framework (OSF)

We can provide guidance on setting up and implementing the OSF for you, your lab, or your research team. Johns Hopkins is an institutional partner of the Open Science Framework for Institutions (OSF4I), a free, open source platform for researchers to share and collaborate on all of phases of research projects. JHU scholars are now able to affiliate themselves and their research projects with JHU on the OSF. We’ve created two templates, a Lab Organization Template and an Electronic Lab Notebook Template for your use.