Tips for Using DataLumos

Steps to Increase Findability of Data

Including metadata, that is, information about your data, will make it easier to find and more useful to others.

  1. Add a descriptive title: Title the project accurately and descriptively, preferably using the exact title provided by the agency originally issuing the data.
  2. Verify the data producer: Data produced by or associated with a specific US government agency should list the agency as the author of the data in the "Government Agency/Principal Investigator(s)" field. Example: The American Time Use Survey is produced by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. When uploading data, as you begin to type United States Department of Labor (acronyms not recommended) into the Organization Name field you will be able to select Bureau of Labor Statistics. For organizations not in our database, you can simply enter descriptive text in this field
  3. Complete summary field: Add a description or abstract to give secondary users a clear sense of what the data are about.
  4. Enter Original Distribution URL: Provide a link to the website where the data were obtained.
  5. Other metadata: In addition to Project Title, Organization Name, Summary, and Original Distribution URL, additional metadata will be helpful to users. For example, if there is a pdf file with documentation or codebook, please include that with your deposit. We also suggest taking and including a screenshot of the source website, if possible, so that the provenance of the data can be determined by subsequent users.

Plan for Large Data Submissions

Data over 2GB will take considerable time to upload; please plan accordingly. For deposits exceeding 50 gigabytes, please contact us for another method of transfer.