Lesson plan for DataOne Lifecycle’s “Describe” stage using historical data from the Alabama Insane Hospital Annual Report (AIHAR) collection

Authors

• Marla Hertz, University Of Alabama At BirminghamFollow
• Tricia Martone, Lehigh UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

2026 IASSIST Conference

Abstract

This activity will teach the value of documentation in research data management using real data from Alabama mental institutions. During the Describe stage of data management, the why, who, what, when, where, and how of the data is provided to improve the interpretation and reuse of research data. This lesson includes options to complete the activity in an analog or digital fashion and is appropriate for undergraduate students and up.

Learning outcomes:

• Learners will be able to articulate the value of documentation in data creation and sharing.
• Learners will be able to construct a data README to describe their data and the creation or transcription process.
• Learners will be able to discuss how data transcription can be a complex process involving many decisions about what to record, how to record it, and to enable which analyses.

Description of files:

• LessonPlan_Describe_AIHAR_COD.docx – for instructors. This document will provide all the necessary information to conduct the lesson
• AIHAR_COD_TinyDatasets.xlsx – dataset for activity
• README_ForActivity.docx – An example of a finished README for the activities
• BlankTable.docx – A blank spreadsheet form to print out when completing the activity analog
• README_Template.docx – a template to create a README
• 1870Report_TablesForActivity2.pdf – excerpts from the AIHAR collection for activity 1
• 1871Report_TablesForActivity2.pdf  excerpts from the AIHAR collection for activity 1

Publication Date

6-2-2026

College or School

UAB Libraries

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Hertz, Marla and Martone, Tricia, "Lesson plan for DataOne Lifecycle’s “Describe” stage using historical data from the Alabama Insane Hospital Annual Report (AIHAR) collection" (2026). Libraries Professional Work. 38.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/libraries-pw/38