Library Subject Guides
You have a number of options available to you. Your decision on which repository to use will be informed by who your funder is and what they require, and the reputation of the repository.
You should choose a recognised data repository for your discipline if one exists; unless your funder requires otherwise.
Specialised services dealing with discipline-specific data are best placed to manage and provide appropriate access to your data for the long-term as they have the expertise and the resources to deal with particular types and sizes of research data.
You should check whether your discipline recommends or mandates the use of specific repositories. For example, you must deposit genetic sequences data in GenBank.
Check re3data.org, an international registry that lists repositories and their characteristics, to see if there is an appropriate discipline-specific repository for your data.
Many funders have expectations for the deposit of data in an appropriate data repository, to ensure that it is preserved and remains accessible for future use. For example:
You can check your funder's data archiving policy (and Open Access requirements) using the Sherpa Juliet database.
Generalist repositories are a good alternative if a recognised data repository for your discipline doesn’t exist or your funder doesn't recommend a data repository. Examples include figshare, Zenodo, Dryad and Research Data York.
The University has its own research data repository, Research Data York, which researchers from any discipline may wish to use. Research Data York can provide ongoing access to research data for extended periods of time and can issue unique Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for deposited datasets.
There are number of things to consider when choosing a suitable data repository for your research data:
Reputation: Does the repository have a good reputation in your field? Is it recommended by your funder or journal?
Metadata: What metadata requirements are there? Will others will be able to find and cite your dataset?
Persistent identifier: Will a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or an accession number be assigned to your dataset, that you can include in your data access statement?
Access restrictions: Can you apply access restrictions or an embargo period if you need to?
Licence: Under what licence are datasets made available for reuse? Will the licence terms fit with your funder requirements?
Intellectual property: Are you required to assign any copyright in the dataset to the repository? You should avoid using repositories that require transfer of rights. See the University policy on intellectual property
Established and funded: Can you rely on it to preserve your data in 10 years time? Is it established and well funded?
For more guidance see the Digital Curation Centre's checklist where to keep your research data.
Thinking about archiving and sharing your data as part of your data management planning will help to ensure that your data is ready for deposit at the appropriate time. For example, data repositories may ask you to meet minimum quality standards so that your data can be understood and reused by other researchers, tasks that may take time to complete.
If you have deposited your dataset in an external data repository (e.g. a discipline-specific or funder recommended repository):
email the Open Research team with the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for the dataset and the DOI for the related paper
or, if no DOI is assigned to your dataset send as much information as you can about your dataset (e.g. the name of the external repository and a URL to the dataset, along with the DOI for the related paper)
Library staff will create a dataset metadata record in PURE for you, based on the one in the external repository (an example). Your PURE record and your researcher profile on the York Research Database will then automatically update.
Postgraduate researchers should record the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for their archived dataset in White Rose eTheses Online. The DOI (or, alternatively a URL) can be added in the Related URLs field:
