Include your dataset

About the Data Catalog

The Pitt Data Catalog (PDC) facilitates researchers’ discovery of data by providing a searchable and browsable online collection of datasets, software, and code generated by Pitt health sciences researchers. Rather than functioning as a data repository to store data, the catalog is a digital way-finder which includes rich metadata (including: description, keywords, format of dataset, instrumentation or software utilized/required, and information about who can access each dataset and how) to increase findability and usefulness of datasets.

The Pitt Data Catalog is designed to:

  • increase the visibility of research data generated by Pitt researchers
  • be a low-barrier way for researchers to make their data discoverable without the need to deposit full datasets into a data repository
  • aggregate Pitt datasets into one location
  • facilitate collaboration across departments and institutes at Pitt
  • support the process of re-using research data
  • allow control over datasets to remain with their creator. Data catalog records can point to datasets in repositories, on lab servers, or in private storage, and can link to applications for data access or the author’s email address.

If you are interested in submitting your dataset to the PDC or have a suggestion for additional datasets to add please use the Include your Dataset form. Visit here to see Terms of Participation.

The code used to create the Pitt Data Catalog is open source and available via GitHub. Documentation and further information is available via OSF.

The University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library System, is a member of the Data Discovery Collaboration and has customized this data discovery tool in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under cooperative agreement number UG4LM012342 with the University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library System. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Sample Language for Grant Submissions

If you are writing a grant and plan to share your data (via a public repository, lab hosted server, by request, etc.) and make it discoverable with the Pitt Data Catalog, below is sample language that can be inserted into your data sharing plan or the data sharing section of your data management plan.

  • Data from this project will be described with rich metadata in the Pitt Data Catalog (https://datacatalog.hsls.pitt.edu) to increase findability and usefulness of the datasets.

    Or

  • Data from this project will be described in the Pitt Data Catalog (https://datacatalog.hsls.pitt.edu) with rich metadata (including: description, keywords, format of dataset, instrumentation or software utilized/required, and information about who can access each dataset and how) to increase findability and usefulness of datasets.

Meet the Team

Melissa Ratajeski Melissa Ratajeski, MLIS, AHIP, RLAT Data Catalog Role: project manager Melissa is the Coordinator of Data Services Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Liaison at HSLS. In this role, she provides support and training for researchers at each stage of the data lifecycle.

Helenmary Sheridan Helenmary Sheridan, MLIS Data Catalog Role: metadata design and implementation; outreach and record creation Helenmary is the Data Services Librarian at HSLS. She supports open science by helping researchers describe and share their research products, including (but not limited to) datasets, computational models, and code.

Angela Zack Angela Zack, MSIS Data Catalog Role: web developer Angela is the Coordinator of Knowledge Integration team at HSLS. She is responsible for the design, development and management of the HSLS website based information technology infrastructure.

Notice and Disclaimer: Please note that the information in this catalog is provided as a courtesy, as is, and with no representations or warranties of any kind. When you contact the responsible individual(s) listed in each record, or, where applicable, access a data repository listed, you will be subject to terms and conditions required by the data custodian/data repository. The University of Pittsburgh does not attempt to judge the scholarly quality of the data referenced and relies on the judgment and research expertise of those who created and/or deposited it.