Module Overview
The lesson materials associated with this are not specific to any particular course, and therefore can be used in a variety of classrooms such as environmental science, data science, ecology, or marine science courses. Introducing students to data repositories at the undergraduate level may open up a new world of research and learning opportunities for them now or as future scientists.
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to….
- Understand what a data repository is and why it is used
- Connect how data storage fits into the data life cycle
- Become familiar with basic data collection methods and their affiliated file formats
- Find and download data from the Arctic Data Center
- Learn what metadata is and why it’s important
- Explain what open data is and why it is important for reproducibility
Learned skills:
- Finding the appropriate repository for different types of data and disciplines
- Navigating a repository and understanding general data science terminology
- Creating a data management plan
Course Format:
This module is meant to be taught within the timeframe of one lab period (or approximately 2 hours in length). Included in this lesson is an introductory video and prepared PowerPoint with time allotted for exploration into the Arctic Data Center’s repository and completion of an in-class assignment. Instructors may want to assign students additional out of classwork, or use additional modules to round out a full unit.Suggested readings: There are no required readings for this course, but feel free to recommend this introductory paper, “Skills and Knowledge for Data-Intensive Environmental Research”.