Find a data repository

Funding agencies and organisations are requiring data to be deposited in open access through thematic data repositories or institutional repositories. When selecting a repository for deposit, you should consider:

• whether the funding agency mandates deposit in a particular repository;
• the subject area;
• storage capacity;
• the ease of data retrieval;
• the assignment of a unique and persistent identifier for each dataset (DOI or Handle);
• the possibility of setting an embargo period for the data;
• the type of licence assigned to the dataset;
• the long-term preservation of the data.

Data can be deposited in different types of repositories:

• Multidisciplinary repositories: Zenodo, Dryad, Dataverse, Figshare, Eudat, Mendeley Data;
• Thematic repositories: in this category, we highlight IEEE Dataport, a valuable and easily accessible data platform that specializes in subjects related to the field of computing. It allows users to store, search, access, and manage data. The platform is designed to accept all dataset formats and sizes (up to 2TB) and provides both download capabilities and access to datasets in the cloud. Other subject repositories include arXiv for Physics and Mathematics and GEO for Genetics.
• Code repositories: Figshare, Github, GitLab;
• ODiSEA: International Registry on Research Data, is an international inventory of repositories and journals that accept research data worldwide. It includes, as a priority, journals that accept supplementary material (title and URL as a minimum). It is a joint project of researchers belonging to six Spanish universities, linked to OpenDataScience-Datasea;
• Many journals require published articles to be accompanied by research data. The journals' policies can be found at Journal open-data policies.

UDC researchers can deposit research data in the multidisciplinary repository Zenodo (created by CERN and the European Commission's OpenAire initiative), in the community created for this purpose. It is also interesting to deposit data in a thematic repository.

Guidelines for selecting a data repository:

• Practical Guide to the International Alignment of Research Data
• Recomendaciones para seleccionar un repositorio donde depositar datos de investigación of the Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya (CSUC)

Find the most appropriate repository for your research in directories such as:

• Re3data,
• Data Repositories,
• Open Access Repository list.

Proper management of research data enables the publication of datasets in Data Journals, which are academic journals that publish datasets or data papers.

Here are some listings of Data Journals:

• Open Data Journals en Portal FOSTER
• Recompilación realizada pola Biblioteca da Universidade da Coruña e a Biblioteca da Universidade do País Vasco

Using data from a repository? Cite the data!

The correct citation of data is essential and should follow a specific format. It must be included in the bibliographic references of the resulting publication. DOI Citation Formatter, a service provided by DataCite, can automatically generate citations according to the selected style using the DOI assigned to the data.

This citation gives credit to the data producer, enables others to use the data, tracks the generated impact, and promotes transparency in scientific research.

The Infoguide Citation and Bibliographic References provide instructions for citing in various bibliographic styles.

Other guides:

How to Cite Datasets and Link to Publications (DCC)

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