Sweeten the Search: Discover Data for Reuse with a Tool That Links Publications to the Underlying Data

Abstract

It can be challenging to find shared social and behavioral health data with the appropriate ingredients for reuse in class assignments or academic research. Help sweeten the data discovery process with a tool that is especially appealing for students who are hesitant about using quantitative data. In a three-part activity, students start by creating a user story to assess needs and determine the best terms for an effective search. Then they take an active tour of a freely available collection of scholarly literature linked to the wide array of social and behavioral research data available for reuse at a large research data archive. While on the tour, students perform searches to discover relevant data. After the tour, they perform a final self-assessment of their data discovery process.