Scholarship through collaboration – Expanding active learning all the way from the field to the empirical data Cornell’s Introductory Field Biology course emphasizes the interaction of students with nature, the recording of ecological phenomena and understanding of the natural environment, including ecological concepts. In addition to cooperative hands-on field lab exercises to build skills in the identification and classification of native biota, students also carry out an independent field research project. The project requires students to formulate research questions from field observations, develop a sampling plan, and collect field data. Students must then analyze and interpret the collected data and submit a research report. An additional 12-minute presentation concludes the active learning research experience at the end of the semester. While sophomore students come with a wide range of field experiences, the same is true for their ability to manage, and analyze data. A cooperation between the instructors of the Introductory Field Biology course and the RDMS group allowed this course to improve the active learning from the field to the organization and analysis of empirical data sets. This partnership improved the approach that students took in organizing their data an provided a point of guidance for conducting basic analyses of collected data through four virtual, 15-minute-long lectures. In course evaluations from the fall of 2019 and 2020, students provided feedback about the data management labs. Overall, students indicated a positive attitude towards the additional instruction. This collaboration allowed them to link the importance of active learning in the field and classroom and appreciate the process of designing, measuring, and analyzing a research project with guidance from diverse resources.