Category Archives: About Resources

Google Dataset Search, a dataset-discovery tool 

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With data sharing increasingly being encouraged in academic research and datasets increasingly being added to data repositories and being published on the Web, it makes sense that a Web browser company like Google would dedicate resources towards the goal of developing a Web discovery tool that is optimized for finding datasets.

How does it work?

Google Dataset Search, a dataset-discovery tool, basically uses Google’s web crawl technology to search for datasets that have been made available on the Web, identifying them based on their metadata (standardized descriptions of the datasets added to them by their owners/publishers).“ Google’s Dataset Search extracts dataset metadata—expressed using schema.org and similar vocabularies—from Web pages in order to make datasets discoverable.”

For an in-depth overview of how Google Dataset Search has been developed – please see:

Sostek, Katrina, Daniel M. Russell, Nitesh Goyal, Tarfah Alrashed, Stella Dugall, and Natasha Noy. “Discovering datasets on the web scale: Challenges and recommendations for Google Dataset Search.” Harvard Data Science Review Special Issue 4 (2024).

How can you search it?

To get started with using Google Dataset Search, go to: Dataset Search at https://datasetsearch.research.google.com/

If you are looking for something specific, you can refine your search results by limiting your search to a particular website domain (for example, site:nih.gov) or adding additional terms to your search. You can also filter your results by when the dataset was last updated, by format, by usage rights, topic/discipline, and whether the dataset is freely-available. Furthermore, you can save your search results, link-out to the external source website where you can download the datasets, and you can easily cite the dataset by copying the citation information that is generated when you click on the citation button (i.e. the quotation mark button).

To learn more – see:

Dataset Search Quick Start Guide –
https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com/resources/trainings/dataset-search-quickstart-guide/

User Support Center – https://datasetsearch.research.google.com/help

Dataset Developer Page –
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/dataset

How is it being used?

It appears that biomedical researchers have already started using Google Dataset Search in their scholarly projects. Some examples focusing on finding image datasets include:

  1. Abbad Andaloussi M, Maser R, Hertel F, Lamoline F, Husch AD. Exploring adult glioma through MRI: A review of publicly available datasets to guide efficient image analysis. Neurooncol Adv. 2025;7(1):vdae197. Epub 20250128. doi: 10.1093/noajnl/vdae197. PubMed PMID: 39877749; PMCID: PMC11773385.

  2. Rozhyna A, Somfai GM, Atzori M, DeBuc DC, Saad A, Zoellin J, Müller H. Exploring Publicly Accessible Optical Coherence Tomography Datasets: A Comprehensive Overview. Diagnostics (Basel). 2024;14(15). Epub 20240801. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics14151668. PubMed PMID: 39125544; PMCID: PMC11312046.

  3. Wen D, Khan SM, Ji Xu A, Ibrahim H, Smith L, Caballero J, Zepeda L, de Blas Perez C, Denniston AK, Liu X, Matin RN. Characteristics of publicly available skin cancer image datasets: a systematic review. Lancet Digit Health. 2022;4(1):e64-e74. Epub 20211109. doi: 10.1016/s2589-7500(21)00252-1. PubMed PMID: 34772649.

  4. Khan SM, Liu X, Nath S, Korot E, Faes L, Wagner SK, Keane PA, Sebire NJ, Burton MJ, Denniston AK. A global review of publicly available datasets for ophthalmological imaging: barriers to access, usability, and generalisability. Lancet Digit Health. 2021;3(1):e51-e66. Epub 20201001. doi: 10.1016/s2589-7500(20)30240-5. PubMed PMID: 33735069.

Questions? Ask Us at the MSK Library!

Speed Up Your Searching with LibKey Nomad

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LibKey Nomad is a browser extension (available for Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, and more!) that provides seamless one-click access to full-text MSK library resources from a wide variety of databases and journals!

Simply install the extension in your preferred browser; during installation you will be asked to select your organization – search and select Memorial Sloan Kettering Library.

How LibKey Nomad Works

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the LibKey Nomad browser extension, a new icon will appear at the bottom of the page when searching on various databases, websites, and journal platforms.

Note: Depending on the browser and/or the settings you have set, you may need to tell LibKey Nomad to allow access to a website, which you can usually set to always allow access to a specific site (eg. PubMed’s website). The browser extension should be visible in the top of your browser and will look like the green LibKey icon above.

Once the page loads, the browser extension will identify the citation(s) and, based on our library’s collection, will guide to access the full-text of each citation on the page.

If PDF full-text is available, a single-click Download PDF button will appear below the citation. If additional authentication is required you will be prompted to sign in via the MSK single sign-on. In most cases the PDF will be coming directly from the publisher or a supporting platform, however in some cases it may find the full-text through PubMed Central (PMC) or a institutional repository.

LibKey Nomad access buttons

  • Download PDF: In a single click the user should be able to either view the PDF in their browser or be prompted to download the PDF to their computer.
  • Article Link: Similar to the PDF full-text, this option appears when either the full-text is only available as HTML, or if a PDF is available but an additional click is required once arriving at the publisher’s website
  • Manuscript PDF: This option appears if the article has been located in a repository as an Accepted Manuscript; while this manuscript has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication, it is likely not formatted for publication yet and may simply be a Word document converted to PDF
  • Manuscript Link: Like the Manuscript PDF button, this will appear if the manuscript is available, but not in PDF format (HTML, Word document, etc.)
  • Access Options: Lastly, if full-text cannot be located immediately, this button will bring you to the MSK Library catalog where you can submit a request through our document delivery service[
  • View Complete Issue [BrowZine]: Integration with BrowZine in certain databases will provide a link to the entire journal issue in BrowZine for a selected citation

Where can I use LibKey Nomad?

Third Iron is continually adding new platforms and publishers to their list of places with LibKey Nomad integration. Currently the extension is supported in a number of databases and websites, as well as a wide range of major journal and eBook publishers.

Library databases with LibKey Nomad Integration:

publishers/Platforms with libkey nomad integration

Note: These publisher sites and platforms represent the discovery starting points but do not represent the coverage of content which extends to *all* eBooks and journals within a libraries collection!  

What’s the difference between libkey nomad and Browzine?

Both LibKey Nomad and BrowZine are produced by Third Iron and they work in conjunction to provide access electronic access to journal articles. LibKey Nomad is a browser extension to identify full-text articles on the web, while BrowZine is a platform to browse and read articles. In certain databases a citation may be able to provide both a link to download the PDF as well as a link to view the entire journal issue that the citation is found in.

For more information about LibKey Nomad

LibKey Nomad tutorial video:

ThirdIron: LibKey Nomad browser extension delivers one-click article access (1:58 min)

Scientific Writing Resources

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As generative AI tools have become increasingly available to academic researchers, so too have the reports of GPT-fabricated scientific papers creeping into the public scholarly record, for example, this 2024 report from the Harvard Kennedy School:

GPT-fabricated scientific papers on Google Scholar: Key features, spread, and implications for preempting evidence manipulation | HKS Misinformation Review

Developing strong scientific writing skills has always been an important component of graduate training in the basic sciences, however, not all scientific authors have the same degree of exposure to writing classes and authorship opportunities. As the burden of recognizing fake papers is falling more and more on the readers of scientific works, there couldn’t be a better way to protect yourself against fraudulent articles than by becoming an expert at scientific writing yourself.

Here’s some resources to explore if you wish to develop your scientific writing skills:

1) E-books from the MSK Library’s collection and full-text book chapters available online

2)     Duke Graduate School Scientific Writing Resource
https://sites.duke.edu/scientificwriting/
“The Scientific Writing Resource is online course material that teaches how to write effectively. The material is not about correctness (grammar, punctuation, etc.), but about communicating what you intend to the reader. It can be used either in a science class or by individuals. It is intended for science students at the graduate level.”

“This guide to scientific writing was originally created in 2010-2011 by Nathan Sheffield for the Duke University Graduate School and funded by a Duke University Graduate School Teaching mini-grant. This current site is maintained by the Duke Graduate School. If you have questions about this site, please contact gradschool@duke.edu.”

The MSK Library also provides access to writing support tools, including:

1)     Citation Management tools – https://libguides.mskcc.org/citationmanagement  

Find out about a variety of citation management software tools that can save you time when you are formatting your manuscript’s references and bibliography.


2)     Trinka AI – https://libguides.mskcc.org/trinka

“Trinka is an AI-powered writing assistant designed for academic and technical writing. Trinka corrects advanced grammar errors and contextual spelling mistakes by providing writing suggestions in real-time. It helps academicians write in a formal, concise, and engaging manner. In addition to correcting grammatical errors, Trinka allows you to paraphrase the text and improve consistency, enabling you to enhance the quality of your writing based on your requirements.”

3)     iThenticate – https://libguides.mskcc.org/ithenticate

“iThenticate is a tool for researchers and writers to check their original works for potential plagiarism. This resource will check against 93% of Top Cited Journal content and 70+ billion current and archived web pages.” 

Questions? Ask Us at the MSK Library!