Meet Lauren Phegley, Our Research Data Engineer

As the Research Data Engineer, Lauren helps researchers with data management best practices, planning, tools, and more. She has been at Penn for almost three years and has done a fabulous job developing these services.

What is the primary focus of your role in RDDS & Penn Libraries?

My role focuses on supporting the Penn community on data management. I teach and conduct consultations on data management actions like organizing files, writing documentation, creating Data Management Plans, interpreting funder requirements for research data, ensuring data privacy and security, working ethically with human subjects data, and sharing data for others to use in the future. There is so much that is covered under the topic of data management, but I tend to explain it as “the behind the scenes work that makes your research understandable and reusable by yourself and others in the future.”

Can you share a bit about your previous experience before joining the Libraries? Tell us about your academic background and interests.

My academic background is in criminal justice and sociology, with an interest in using forensic anthropology as a lens to understand collective violence. Due to my background in the social sciences, I look at how I can influence good research norms in people rather than fixing data management as a technical issue. Prior to joining the Penn Libraries, I worked at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, teaching research data management to graduate students. Data management is rarely taught but often a silent expectation, which doesn’t set anyone up for success! Being able to provide information and support to meet this need helped me understand that this work aligned with my personal and professional values.

What are you most excited about in your role?

Part of why I love working in the library is that lifelong learning is an expectation. I continually get to work on building new skills and growing my knowledge so I can support researchers working with research data. Currently, I am excited to be working on a multi-institutional project investigating the use of persistent identifiers (like DOIs or RRIDs) to track the usage and documentation of scientific instruments and facilities. For example, researchers who use the NSF/NCAR Hercules C130 Aircraft in their research can cite the physical object using the DOI associated with the scientific facility. This allows other researchers to know which specific facility was used and gives instrument and facility providers a better understanding of research that is coming from their users.

What have you been surprised by at Penn or Philadelphia?

I was surprised when moving to Philadelphia by how many opportunities there are to get involved with hobbies or places you are passionate about. This isn’t a city that makes it easy to be bored.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time? 

I enjoy gardening, needle felting, reading a good book, yoga, and being in the kitchen. You can often find me trying to give away a baked good that I have made too much of to friends.

Feel free to reach out to Lauren or other members of RDDS.