Sally Gore, MS, MSLIS
Manager, Research & Scholarly Communications Services
sally.gore@umassmed.edu
Lisa Palmer, MSLS, AHIP
Institutional Repository Librarian
lisa.palmer@umassmed.edu
Tess Grynoch, MLIS
Research Data & Scholarly Communications Librarian
tess.grynoch@umassmed.edu
Leah Honor, MLIS
Research Data & Scholarly Communications Librarian
leah.honor@umassmed.edu
A README file is a text file that contains information about other files in a directory.
For eScholarship@UMassChan, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School's institutional repository, a README file is required before your data is approved for posting in the repository. The general README file we suggest you complete is available here:
If your discipline requires more rigorous and detailed README files or metadata, you can upload that file with the data you are depositing into eScholarship@UMassChan.
Example README files:
If you have questions about completing a README file, or other questions about managing and sharing your data, please contact the Library Research Data Services Team, datalib@umassmed.edu.
A data dictionary represents the structure of your dataset. Each row in a data dictionary, which is generally a spreadsheet, corresponds to a field in your data entry form and provides a detailed description of each variable, such as:
If you have questions about compiling a data dictionary, or other questions about managing and sharing your data, please the Library Research Data Services Team, datalib@umassmed.edu.
Metadata is the structured information created, stored, and shared to describe data and helps others find, use, and properly cite data. It is often called "data about data" and is synonymous with data documentation, which includes READMEs and data dictionaries.
If you have questions about choosing a metadata schema, creating metadata for your data, or other questions about managing and sharing your data, please contact the Library Research Data Services at datalib@umassmed.edu.