How to select trustworthy repositories
ThemesHow to select trustworthy repositories
What is this about?
Why is this important?
After deciding what research data to keep for long-term preservation, researchers should select the right repository. There is a variety of repositories – those that are focused on a specific research area and those for general purpose.[1] Funders, journals, and universities also have their own repositories.[1][2] Since there are more than 2,000 data repositories,[3] researchers should use certain principles and standards in their selection process. They should:
-check whether there are any funder requirements that may mandate which repository to use
-check with the journal they are submitting their paper to, because some journals keep a list of approved repositories they will accept or have specific policies on data archiving
-check for discipline specific repositories because they could be more suitable to their datasets and other researchers expect to find them there
-or deposit their data into a University repository.[4]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Briney K A, Coates H, Goben A. Foundational Practices of Research Data Management. Research Ideas and Outcomes. 2020; 6:e56508.
- ↑ University of Birmingham. Choosing a sutable repository to deposit your data. 2020 June. [cited 2021 Oct 18]. Available from: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/libraryservices/library/research/rdm/Archiving-data/Choosing-a-data-repository.aspx.
- ↑ DataCite Blog. 2,000 Data Repositories and Science Europe’s Framework for Discipline-specific Research Data Manamegent. 2018 Feb 13. [cited 2021 Oct 18]. Available from: https://blog.datacite.org/re3data-science-europe/.
- ↑ The University of Edinburgh. Choosing a repository. 2020 Dec 7. [cited 2021 Oct 18]. Available from: https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/research-support/research-data-service/after/choosing-a-suitable-repository.
For whom is this important?
What are the best practices?
Digital Curation Centre (DCC) has issued a checklist containing relevant questions for researchers concerning criteria for their selection of repositories. However, it has emphasised that while it provides “a shortcut through relevant policies and standards”, it does not guarantee that these repositories comply with specific standards or funders’ policies. Therefore, this guide provides a framework to help researchers with what can be a somewhat difficult decision. By going through these questions, researchers should be able to make a well informed decision on whether their repositories are suited for their data. They should also always check funder and journal policies for compliance.
The checklist contains five questions to consider when looking for repositories:
-Is a repository of your choice reputed?
-Will it take the data you want to deposit?
-Will it be safe legally?
-Will it sustain the data value?
-Will it support analysis and tract data usage?[1]
This guide also contains information on where researchers can find repository registries, such as Re3data and Biosharing.[1]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Whyte A. Where to keep research data: DCC checklist for evaluating data repositories v.1.1 Edinburgh: Digital Curation Centre. 2015. [cited 2021 Oct 18]. Available from: https://www.dcc.ac.uk/guidance/how-guides/where-keep-research-data#5.
Andrijana Perković Paloš contributed to this theme. Latest contribution was Oct 19, 2021
