Choose a data repository

Choose a data repository

1. What is a repository?

A repository is an online archive dedicated to the publication and long-term preservation of research outputs.  Some of them are dedicated to research data.

2. Where to preserve and share your research data?

There are different types of Data Repository. Some are specific to a discipline or field of research, while others are general or multidisciplinary (for example, the data repository Zenodo, maintained by CERN). Finally, some repositories include data from a particular institution (for example, the data repository of your university => consult your Research Data officer !).

You can find disciplinary repositories by using the « Repository registries ». These are secondary databases that list research data repositories. Some of these registries are listed below

• re3data.org (Registry of Research Data Repositories): a registry covering research data repositories from different scientific disciplines. You can enter the subject of your search in the browser, then add the appropriate filter or browse the results by country.
• FAIRsharing : a multi-disciplinary tool with entries for repositories, data standards and data policies.
• OpenAIRE Explore : this is a European project to support Open Science, including technical infrastructure. OpenAIRE Explore allows users to search for data sources, such as data repositories or repository registries.
• BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine): data repository operated by Bielefeld University Library.
• CoreTrustSeal : the registry allows you to search for certified data repositories. « CoreTrustSeal » is a peer-reviewed certification.

(Source : UCLouvain, BiLC, Research Data Management)

3. How to choose a repository?

When choosing your data repository, we suggest that you first refer to the criteria defined by your funder. However, there are other important criteria to consider. Here is a list of criteria you should pay attention to.

• Does it provide a persistent identifier?

This is a crucial point: when you’ll get a persistent identifier (PI), like DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for your data, people will be able to find it and access to it easily, two main points of the FAIR data principles, encouraged by the scientific community. Moreover, people reading or using your data will cite you, just like they cite your papers. This will get you credit for your data work and your research career.

• Is long-term preservation guaranteed or not?
  Some repositories will guarantee the legibility of the data, even if the hardware and software become obsolete. Also consider the period of time that you want your data to be persevered. For example, your fundraiser or the Journal in which you published an article may have guidelines on the amount of time required. This time period may also depend on your discipline: some data became obsolete quicker than others. Some data are, on the contrary, worthy to be stored for the long run.
• What are the costs per dataset or gigabyte?
  Repositories differ in their cost model, some allow free deposits up to a certain amount of storage. Note that some fundraisers allow you to take this amount of money into account in your project’s budget.
• What is the physical storage location of data?
  The location of your data determines under which data protection law it falls. Some repositories store data in the US and others in the EU. For now, there are no generic Belgian data repository.
• Does the repository allow for restricted access?
  Some repositories allow for open or restricted access. Restricted access is often necessary when publishing pseudonymized personal data or when you wish to set special requirement for re-use for other reasons.

• What is the default license? Does the repository allow me to choose the re-use license?
  Most repositories let you choose a licence. Make sure to change the default licence given by the repository in case you find it too permissive or too restrictive. Please check the condition of the repository you consider. If you may choose the type of license of your data, we advise you to take one of the Creative Common license that are summarized here

• Is the repository certified?
  Repositories with a Data Seal of Approval or CoreTrustSeal are recognised in the community as a trustworthy source of data. Check this information in looking at the repositories you consider.

(Source: Utrecht University checklist)