Work with geospatial data and geospatial information systems (GIS)
Interested in using spatial data, methods, and technologies in your classroom or research projects? Stanford Libraries provides access and support for a wide range of resources, including softwares like ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, QGIS, Google Earth Engine, and datasets like Planet.com’s daily image of the Earth. We maintain a robust spatial-data infrastructure and spatial-data catalog (Earthworks), and offer access to Stanford Libraries' global geocoding services at locator.stanford.edu.
Learn more about geospatial services and GIS
Find resources for qualitative research
Qualitative research is used to gather descriptive data about people's lived experiences through methods such as interviews, observational field study, and the analysis of texts and other media. Stanford Libraries provides library resources on methodologies and occasionally offers workshops on software options and research considerations. We encourage and advise on the archiving of qualitative research data.
Use R to analyze your data
Are you interested in using machine learning, text analysis, or data visualization in your research? R is an open-source programming language and statistical-software package that can be used to analyze data in many different ways. Stanford Libraries provides a variety of resources for researchers looking to work with R. Beginners can learn the basics at one of our introductory workshops, while more experienced users can learn new ways of "wrangling" their research data.
Broaden your research with text and data mining
Looking for new ways to work with large datasets and text corpora? Text and data-mining (TDM) methods can be used to process and analyze large amounts of data in order to identify new relationships and discover new knowledge that might otherwise be inaccessible to the human eye. We can assist you with every phase of your TDM project, from finding text corpora and datasets, to normalizing your data for computerized processing, to extracting and mining useful insights for your research projects.
Learn how to write data management plans
Applying for a research grant and need a data management plan (DMP)? Most funding agencies require that your grant includes details on the data you’ll be gathering or generating during your research project, as well as how you’ll manage, describe, analyze, store, share, and preserve these data. Writing a DMP will not only help you meet the requirements of your funding agency, it will help you put a plan in place before your project starts and keep your project organized through the final publication. The DMPTool can help you with composing your data management plan, while the Stanford Digital Repository is a secure, long-term sharing and preservation solution available to all Stanford researchers.
Structure your research with protocols.io
Want to ensure that your research results are replicable? Protocols.io is a secure platform for developing and sharing reproducible methods. Researchers can create step-by-step, interactive, and dynamic protocols that can be run on mobile devices or the web. Protocols can be easily and efficiently shared with colleagues, collaborators, the scientific community, or the general public. Real-time communication and interaction keep protocols up-to-date with versioning, forking, Q&A, and troubleshooting. Public protocols receive a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). The protocols.io premium edition is available to the Stanford community.
Share your data
Publisher requirement, funding-agency mandate, or open-science ambassador? Whatever your reason for sharing research data, you’ll want to carefully consider what exactly to share and how to share it. Learn more about how to describe your data, how to choose a repository, and why and how to choose a license.
Discover, access, and analyze data with the Stanford Data Farm on Redivis
Looking for a quick way to find datasets purchased by the Libraries? The Stanford Data Farm on Redivis allows you to perform full-text searches for datasets that might be relevant to your research, apply for access to restricted datasets, query and manipulate the contents of subscribed datasets, and analyze your results. Get started with our Data Farm quick-start guide or visit Redivis to begin searching.
Access satellite imagery with Planet.com
Do you use satellite data in your research? Planet is the leader in the current "small sat" revolution in Earth imaging. With a growing constellation of 200+ "Doves," Planet is able to image the Earth's landmass at a three-megapixel resolution, once every day. This high-cadence, medium-high resolution imagery is well suited to monitoring applications, semantic segmentation, and traditional remote sensing applications. Stanford researchers can apply for a Planet Enterprise Account, which provides access to Planet.com's daily PlanetScope imagery, and automated monthly and quarterly composite-tile services.
Use Google Earth Engine to work with Earth observation imagery and geospatial datasets
Performing large-scale analysis of planetary images? Google Earth Engine combines a multi-petabyte catalog of satellite imagery and geospatial datasets with planetary-scale analysis capabilities. Scientists, researchers, and developers use Earth Engine to detect changes, map trends, and quantify differences on the Earth's surface. Through a partnership with Google Earth Outreach, Stanford Libraries provides access to Google Earth Engine to all Stanford community members with a valid SUNet ID.
Get instant access to ArcGIS and related resources
Are you working with maps or other forms of spatial data? The Stanford Geospatial Center can help you start exploring spatial data with ArcGIS Online, a web-based alternative to desktop GIS software. We offer a variety of resources that will help you get familiar with the ArcGIS interface. Upload your own data or search the rich trove of ready-to-use spatial data already hosted at ArcGIS.com to begin creating, exploring, and analyzing your own interactive maps.
Log in to ArcGIS Online with your SUNetID and start using GIS now