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Research Data Management

Resources for research data management and planning

Finding a Repository

If you are writing a DMP or DSMP for a grant proposal, the funding agency may specify a data repository, such as NSF-PAR or NASA Open Data Portal.

If the funding agency doesn't specify a repository, use a domain specific repository that is commonly used in your field. If you aren't aware of a disciplinary depository that is appropriate for your data, a repository for your subject area is still a good choice. You can search for one in re3data.org, a directory of research data repositories.

If there isn't an appropriate subject repository, a generalist repository is also a good option. Some of these are Figshare, Dataverse, Open Science Framework, and Zenodo.  See the comparison chart from NIH for more information, also in the box below.

Finally, before deciding, see the Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research.

NIH Data Repositories

The NIH Data Sharing and Management Policy that went into effect January 25, 2023 requires that all Data Management and Sharing Plans name a data repository as part of their grant proposal. To assist with this, they provide a list of generalist repositories which accept most types of data, and a list of domain specific repositories. More information is available on their website on Selecting a Data Repository.

A comparison chart of generalist repositories by the Research Data Alliance is here: Generalist Repository Comparison Chart_version 3.0.pdf

 

Citing Data

Citing data is just as important as citing any other research materials, and as data reuse becomes more common, so is data citation. Many citation style guides now include citation formatting for citing datasets. Here is a quick guide to citing data from IASIST.

USGS also has an excellent guide on data citation. https://www.usgs.gov/data-management/data-citation

Ways to Avoid a Data Storage Disaster

Don't be another data loss story! This article in Nature provides guidance on how to protect your data from loss.