Digital Scholar Bytes: Love Data Week: “Where’s the Data?”

Posted on by Kevin Gunn

International Love Data Week is the celebration of data from February 9-13, 2026. This year’s theme, “Where’s the Data?” invites participants to think more carefully about the full life cycle of data—from the moment it is created or collected, through its analysis and active use, to its long-term storage, sharing, and preservation. Rather than treating data as something that simply “exists” on a computer or in the cloud, the theme encourages researchers, students, and professionals to ask practical and ethical questions about where their data resides, who controls access to it, how securely it is managed, and how long it will remain usable. It highlights the often-invisible infrastructure that supports research, including servers, repositories, metadata standards, and preservation systems, while also drawing attention to risks such as data loss, obsolescence, privacy breaches, and inequitable access. Responsible data stewardship is not an afterthought but a central part of credible, transparent, and sustainable scholarship. To learn more about Love Data Week check out the official website International Love Data Week 2026. The yearly event is sponsored by the ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research).

 

Adopt a Dataset (classroom edition)

One annual activity of Love Data Week is to have individuals adopt a dataset. Instructors can create a classroom exercise designed to help students engage closely with a single study from the ICPSR data catalog. The activity is especially well suited for courses that have already introduced core research concepts such as sampling, data collection methods, and the formulation of hypotheses and variables. By guiding students through a structured exploration of an existing dataset, the exercise encourages them to think critically about how data are produced, documented, and interpreted. The questions in the activity reflect the kinds of considerations researchers must address when preparing data for secondary analysis, helping students build practical skills in evaluating the strengths, limitations, and appropriate uses of real-world research data.

 

ICPSR Events

View all Love Data Week events and activities happening locally and virtually around the world. Here is a selection:

Love Data Week is a global community initiative about the role data plays in our lives. You can develop practical knowledge and skills while becoming part of a community that recognizes the social, cultural, and scholarly power of data. Whether you attend a webinar, explore and adopt a dataset, or join conversations, you are contributing to a broader movement that values, reflects on, and celebrates data in all its forms. Follow Love Data Week on Instagram and Bluesky all year long, use @LoveDataWeek in your posts, and continue the #LoveData26 conversation anytime.

 

The Catholic University of America Libraries

If you are interested in learning more, see our Digital Scholarship guide.

Kevin Gunn is the Coordinator of Digital Scholarship at The Catholic University of America Libraries

 

Resources

Google Dataset Search

ICPSR Data Fair @Love Data Week

Love Data Week Resource Kit

The Open Data Handbook

U.S. Government (data.gov)

 

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