The DCN CURATE(D) Steps
The DCN developed a standardized set of C-U-R-A-T-E-D steps and checklists to ensure that all datasets submitted to the Network receive consistent treatment (DCN, 2018). The CURATE(D) Checklists (pdf) were drafted in the planning phase of the project and further enhanced by members of the DCN at the First Annual All Hands Meeting in July, 2018 (view version 1). The CURATE(D) steps were revised in 2022 by numerous members of the DCN.
CCheck files/code and read documentation (risk mitigation, file inventory, appraisal/selection) – checklist
UUnderstand the data (or try to), if not… (run files/code, QA/QC issues, readmes) – checklist
RRequest missing information or changes (tracking provenance of any changes and why) – checklist
AAugment metadata for findability (DOIs, metadata standards, discoverability) – checklist
TTransform file formats for reuse (data preservation, conversion tools, data visualization) – checklist
EEvaluate for FAIRness (transparent usage licenses, responsibility standards, metrics for tracking use) – checklist
DDocument all curation activities throughout the process – checklist
Data Curation Primers
Data curation primers are peer-reviewed, living documents that detail a specific subject, disciplinary area or curation task and that can be used as a reference to curate research data. The links below are to the live, editable copies in GitHub while archived pdf versions are available in the DCN repository.
All primers have been licensed under a CC-BY 4.0 license. We invite and welcome contributions and corrections to existing primers.
Authors of primers include archivists and data librarians who attended the 2018-2020 Specialized Data Curation Workshops presented by the Data Curation Network (IMLS RE-85-18-0040-18).
| Accessibility Data Primer | Creators: Emily Oxford and Rachel Woodbrook Mentor: Wendy Kozlowski |
| Acrobat PDF Primer | Creators: Peace Ossom-Williamson, Nicole Contaxis, Margaret Lam and Adam Kriesberg Mentor: Jake Carlson |
| ATLAS.ti Primer | Creator: Margarita Corral Affiliated contributor: Hannah Hadley Mentor: Dave Fearon |
| Clinical Trials Data Primer | Creators: Liliana Gonzalez, Mikala Narlock, Shawna Taylor Mentors: Jen Darragh and Sophia Lafferty-Hess |
| Column Binary Data Primer | Creators: Jessica Ko and Kelsie Norek Mentors: Wendy Kozlowski and Neggin Keshavarzian |
| Confocal Microscopy Image Primer | Creators: Susan Ivey, Amy Koshoffer, Gretchen Sneff and Huajin Wang Mentor: Lisa Johnston |
| Consent Forms Primer | Creators: Shanda Hunt, Alicia Hofelich Mohr and Rachel Woodbrook |
| Databases Primer | Creator: Xuying Xin Mentor: Dave Fearon |
| Geodatabase Primer | Creators: Andrew Battista, Tom Brittnacher, Zenobie Garrett, Jennifer Moore and Carrie Pirmann Mentor: Mara Blake |
| GeoJSON Primer | Creators: Nadia Dixson, Genevieve Milliken, Keshav Mukunda, Reina Murray and Rachel Starry Mentor: Mara Blake |
| GeoTIFF Primer | Creators: Courtney Kearney, Nick Ruhs, Mara Sedlins, Tracy Tien, Jessica Trelogan and John Watts Mentor: Jennifer Moore |
| Google Docs Primer | Creators: Nadia Dixson and Adam Kriesberg Mentor: Sophia Lafferty-Hess |
| Human Participants Data Essentials Primer | Creators: Jen Darragh, Alicia Hofelich Mohr, Shanda Hunt, Rachel Woodbrook, Dave Fearon, Jennifer Moore and Hannah Hadley |
| ISO Images Primer | Creators: Kate Barron and Jonathan Bohan Mentor: Cynthia Hudson Vitale |
| Jupyter Notebooks Primer | Creators: Daina Bouquin, Sophie Hou, Matthew Benzing and Lee Wilson Mentor: Susan Borda |
| Matlab Primer | Creators: Sam Sciolla and Susan Borda |
| Microsoft Access Primer | Creators: Fernando Rios Mentor: Dave Fearon |
| Microsoft Excel Primer | Creators: Greg Janée, Sandra Sawchuk and Ho Jung Yoo Mentor: Wendy Kozlowski |
| Neuroimaging DICOM and NIfTI Primer | Creators: Michael Moore, Brandon Patterson, Sara Samuel, Helenmary Sheridan, Chris Sorensen Mentor: Joel Herndon |
| netCDF Primer and Tutorial using an NCAR dataset | Creator: Sam Sciolla, Susan Borda and Sophie Hou |
| NVivo Primer | Creator: Hannah Hadley Affiliated contributor: Margarita Corral Mentor: Dave Fearon |
| Oral History Interviews Primer | Creators: J.A. Pryse, Matthew Harp, Sara Mannheimer, Wanda Marsolek and Wind Cowles Mentor: Lisa Johnston |
| Qualitative Data Primer | Creators: Diana Castillo, Heather Coates, Mikala Narlock Mentor: Shanda Hunt |
| R Primer | Creators: Lynda Kellam, Katherine Koziar and Stanislav Pejša Mentor: Joel Herndon |
| SPSS Primer | Creators: Sai Deng, Joshua Dull, Jeanine Finn and Shahira Khair Mentor: Sophia Lafferty-Hess |
| STL Primer | Creators: Elizabeth Blackwood, Doug Joubert and James Sobczak Mentor: Jennifer Moore |
| SAS Primer | Creator: Qiong Xu Mentor: Jen Darragh |
| Tableau Primer | Creators: Christine Malinowski and Trisha Adamus Mentor: Wendy Kozlowski |
| Twitter Primer | Creators: Marley Kalt and Dorris Scott Mentor: Wendy Kozlowski |
| WordPress.com Primer | Creator: Heather James Mentor: Lisa Johnston |