Data Services & Digital Humanities

W&M Libraries provides resources and support for anyone in the W&M community who works with or is interested in learning more about working with data, creating visualizations, managing and archiving their data, and exploring new digital methods and approaches. Our librarians are available for consultations, and provide workshops throughout the semester on various data and digital humanities topics.

For questions related to digital humanities and its possibilities, please email data-dh@wm.edu.

Data Services

The Instruction & Data Services Librarian, Mary Oberlies, currently offers the following data services to faculty, staff and students through instruction and individual consultation:

• Data Management Plans (DMPs): These are highly personalized plans that must be completed by the researcher. I can orient researchers to the DMPTool, which provides templates for a DMP based on the grant pursuing, and provide instruction on the purpose of a DMP, including what needs to be included and elements that need to be considered to develop a plan. I can also recommend data repositories and provide information about what type of restrictions can be put into place for confidentiality while still meeting open data requirements of federal grants. Please visit our Data Management and Sharing Plans research guide to learn more about DMPs.
• Locating Data Sets: I can assist users with locating open data sets – international and national level – and provide recommendations on reliable data repositories and search engines. I can also provide training on how to do searches for data sets and navigating data repositories, including how to refine their searches to specific file formats, organizations, etc.
• Navigating Subscription Data Set Repositories: We subscribe to several data repositories, including Social Explorer, Statista, Gallup Analytics, SimplyAnalytics, ICPSR, and Sage Data. I can provide training on using these tools.

Business Data Services

The McLeod Business Library offers the following data services to faculty, staff, and students in the School of Business and in partnership with the broader W&M community. Please contact us at mcleodlibrary@wm.edu for assistance.

• Data Licensing and Procurement: We license and procure data that align with the School of Business's distinct curriculum and research endeavors. For new data requests, the Business Library offers two annual awards -  up to $500 each - to support faculty in procuring one-time data sets that support their research and/or curriculum needs. 
• Curating and Locating Data Sets: We leverage proprietary databases, including Wharton Research Data Services, Bloomberg, and LSEG/Refinitiv Eikon, to curate custom data sets. We also assist in locating existing data from a variety of sources.
• Data Literacy Instruction: We partner with faculty to integrate data literacy into Business undergraduate and graduate classes with data-related outcomes. As part of this instruction, we guide students in data discovery using open and proprietary resources; advise on limitations of particular data sources and sets; and share best practices for evaluating data.

Digital Humanities

The library liaison for Digital Humanities, Rachel Hogan, just started at William & Mary in July 2023. Over her first year, she plans to slowly define and expand digital humanities support available through the library.