Research Data Management: Past Workshops

1. Data Journeys (Recurring series)
   1. Healing Through Organization: Data Cleaning as Self-care for the Emotionally Wrecked (2025)
   2. Reproducibility for People Who’ve Lost Their Own Code: Because Peer Review Is Brutal and Memory Is Fragile (2025)
   3. From Chaos to Clarity: Your Data Literacy Glow-Up (2025)
   4. Tears, Tabs and Terrible File Names: A Survivor's Guide to Organizing Your Data (2025) 
   5. Organizing and Optimizing Your Research Data (2024) 
   6. Data Foundations, A Beginner's Guide to Understanding and Using Data (2024)
   7. Sustaining Digital Futures, Planning for the End of Your Digital Project (2024)
2. Love Data Week (Recurring series)
   1. Whose Data Is It, Anyway? (2025)
   2. My Kind of Data (2024)
3. Other RDM Workshops

   1. University of Waterloo RDM Community Workshop

Description:

Data cleaning doesn’t have to be just a technical task—it can be a therapeutic one. In this workshop, we’ll reframe the often-tedious process of cleaning data as an act of care: for your project, your collaborators and yourself. You’ll learn how to spot and fix common issues, streamline messy data sets, and create workflows that feel less like punishment and more like progress. Come for the skills, stay for the emotional catharsis.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify and address common data quality issues
• Apply techniques for efficient and effective data cleaning
• Build workflows that support both technical accuracy and emotional resilience

Clean data, clear mind—because sometimes, tidying your spreadsheet is the first step to tidying your soul.  

Materials: 

• Slides
• Recording

Facilitator:

Antonio Muñoz Gómez: Metadata & Cataloguing/Digital Scholarship Librarian

Description:

We’ve all been there: a reviewer or supervisor asks for your analysis, and you realize you have no idea how you got those results. This workshop is a judgment-free zone for anyone who’s lost track of their own work, it happens! 

We’ll explore why research reproducibility and replicability matter, what happens if it’s not, and how to detect unreliable research around you. This workshop will also explore tools and techniques to make your research reproducible—even if you’re starting from a pile of mystery scripts. Learn how to document, automate and share your workflows so future-you (and others) won’t be left in the dark.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand the principles and importance of reproducible and replicable research
• Learn strategies for creating, maintaining and sharing reproducible research
• Learn how to start identifying unreliable data around them

Reproducibility: because your future self deserves better than "I swear it worked once!"

Materials:

• Slides
• Recording

Facilitators:

Description:

Data isn’t just for analysts—it’s for everyone. This workshop is your invitation to level up your data literacy, no matter your starting point or what you consider (or don’t consider) data. We’ll demystify key concepts like what even is data, what to do with it and how to begin interpreting it. This workshop will also show you how to ask better questions, spot red flags and make informed decisions. Think of it as a makeover for your brain—sparkly new skills included.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to: 

• Understand foundational data concepts and terminology
• Become more familiar with data in non-traditional forms
• Learn how to begin critically evaluating data and spot red flags

Materials:

• Slides
• Recording

Facilitators:

Description:

Ever opened a folder and felt like you were staring into an unknown abyss? This workshop is for anyone who’s battled chaotic data (any type!), cryptic file names and the haunting presence of “final_final_v3.docx.” We’ll walk through practical strategies for naming, storing and structuring your data so you can find what you need—without crying. Whether you're working solo or collaborating across teams, this session will help you build habits that reduce confusion and increase efficiency. 

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to: 

• Identify common pitfalls in data organization and how to avoid them
• Understand best practices for file naming, folder structures and version control
• Have the skills to develop a personalized system for managing their own data

Say goodbye to data dumpster fires and hello to digital tranquility —your future self will thank you!

Materials:

• Slides
• Recording

Facilitator:

Anneliese Eber: Research Data Management Librarian

Description:

Learn what data literacy means at every step of a research project. This workshop, a combination of presentation and question & answer period, will introduce foundational data literacy concepts, including looking at what it means to collect, analyze and evaluate data, as well as sharing and storing data, the less conspicuous aspects of data literacy.  

By the end of this workshop, participants will have: 

• Foundational understanding of the essential components of data literacy to successfully execute a research project in its entirety
• Understanding of how data literacy impacts each stage of a research project

Materials:

• Slides

Facilitator:

Anneliese Eber: Research Data Management Librarian

Description:

Learn what data literacy means at every step of a research project. This workshop, a combination of presentation and question & answer period, will introduce foundational data literacy concepts, including looking at what it means to collect, analyze and evaluate data, as well as sharing and storing data, the less conspicuous aspects of data literacy.  

By the end of this workshop, participants will have: 

• Foundational understanding of the essential components of data literacy to successfully execute a research project in its entirety
• Understanding of how data literacy impacts each stage of a research project

Materials:

• Slides

Facilitators:

Description:

Have you thought about what happens to your project when you’re done? This workshop, a combination of presentation and question & answer period, will cover the stages of planning for the end and long-term sustainability of your project. Questions such as knowing when your project is completed, which parts should be preserved, and how your choice of digital tools can future-proof your project will be discussed.   

By the end of this workshop, participants will have: 

• A framework to plan for the long-term sustainability of their projects

Materials:

• Slides

Facilitator:

Antonio Muñoz Gómez: Metadata & Cataloguing/Digital Scholarship Librarian

Research Data Management Community Workshop 2023

At the end of September 2023, the University of Waterloo hosted a two-day Research Data Management Community Workshop. Joining in were 110 participants from 40 Canadian academic institutions, federal agencies, and research institutes spanning from British Columbia to the Northwest Territories, Quebec, and Newfoundland. Holding roles in the library, research administration, and IT, the participants represented the broad cross section of perspectives involved in RDM support.

Key speakers and panel discussions focused on RDM from a Canadian context and from a researcher’s perspective, including presentations on Indigenous Data Sovereignty, Indigenous RDM, RDM and ethical considerations, and embedding good RDM practices in pan-Canadian research projects. Using the Chatham House Rule to facilitate open, inclusive conversation, participants were also led through a series of open-ended dialogues focused on challenges, working strategies, and best practices at their institutions. The notes from these discussions will inform an upcoming thought paper that will make recommendations about next steps for the research data management community.