Rebecca Dikow
Director of Computational Methods and Data
Yale University
Computational Methods and Data is a new department within the Research and Learning portfolio at Yale University Library. The department was formed in response to the high demand for data-intensive research support and the need to break down disciplinary silos to provide high-quality data services. Researchers across disciplines and at every academic level are navigating ever-rising expectations to gather, analyze, visualize, and publish datasets of increasing size and complexity. While users may have ready-access to artificial intelligence (AI) tools, the cloud, and open datasets, how to navigate these responsibly in the context of a research project is not at all straightforward. The department is composed of staff in the areas of Digital Humanities, Geospatial Services, Research Data Management, and Statistical Support Services, which were previously separate initiatives at the Library. The support modalities provided by staff in the department include research consultations, workshops, dataset acquisition, documentation, access to compute and storage, formal instruction in university courses, and collaboration. The department also serves as a touchpoint to and collaborator with many other parts of the university, including academic departments, research centers, and core facilities. The present state, examples of current projects, and future plans for growth for the new department will be detailed.