Skip to Main Content

Searching for Research Data: How to document your search

A libguide on how to find existing data to reuse for research.

Why documenting your search?

Documenting your search can help you keep track of what you have done so that you can reproduce your results at a later stage. It can help you to describe your search process to others, and it can justify the choices you made in the search process. Documenting searches can furthermore help you to stay organized, and remember what did and did not work, and thus perhaps save you some time.

Reference manager

A reference manager can help you to create a library of the datasets you have found.

See library guidance for the following reference managers:

Zotero

Mendeley

Endnote

Data search logbook

Data search logbook

The objective of a logbook is to record information about your data search. The logbook should be sufficiently detailed to allow you (or someone else) to use it in order to reproduce your results. This can help you to adjust keywords, filters and inclusion and exclusion criteria to fit the requirements of the database.

You can document the following during your search process:

  • The repository and/or search engine used
  • Keywords and/or search strings used
  • Number of results
  • If it was a useful search for your topic
  • Notes about the search (e.g. filters, inclusion or exclusion criteria)

When you have found datasets, you can document the following:

  • In which database/repository/organisation you found the dataset
  • How to access the dataset (open, embargoed, restricted, closed)
  • Notes, e.g. filters used, source of reference
  • Link to persistent identifiers (e.g. DOI)
  • Date

In the column on the left you can find an example of a data search logbook. 

How to cite data

You should cite datasets for the same reasons as journal articles and other types of publications: to acknowledge the original author/producer and to help others find your sources.

A dataset citation includes all of the same components as any other citation:

  • Author
  • Title
  • Year of publication
  • Publisher (this is often the repository/ archive where the dataset is found)
  • Edition or version
  • Access information (a persistent identifier (e.g. DOI) or an URL)

The repository/archive hosting the dataset may provide citation guidelines.