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Research Data Management: Data Repositories and Journals

Learn how to write a successful data management plan according to funding agency requirements.

How do I choose which repository to use?

1. Does your funder or publisher mandate which repository to use?

2. Is there a subject repository available in which the scope of contents is comparable to your research?

Finding Repositories

Re3data.org (Registry of Registry Data Repositories)

  • Free to use
  • Includes repositories from funding agencies, publishers, and academic institutions on an international level
  • Each repository listed is tagged with use information (i.e. Open Access, Creative Commons)
  • Numerous search capabilities, such as by subject discipline, content type, geographical area, and even by repository type

Data Repositories and Data Journals By Subject Discipline

figshare

  • Free to all researchers
  • Includes more than just data – researchers can archive presentations, preprints of articles, and even lecture videos
  • Researchers can restrict access and define customizable terms of use
  • Data receives a DOI
  • Provides usage statistics of data files

Harvard Dataverse

  • Free to all researchers (not just to Harvard University affiliates)
  • Share, archive, cite, and access data
  • Researchers can restrict access and define customizable terms of use
  • Data receives a DOI
  • Dataverse: customizable collections of datasets (usually by theme or project)

ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research) 

  • In most cases, free to all researchers (Some access requires institutional authorized access)
  • Researchers can choose whether to grant access to the general public or to restrict access 
  • Data receives a DOI
  • ICPSR maintains a “Bibliography of Data-related Literature” which collects research that cites data from the ICPSR
  • Search by subject terms, geographical area, data format, collection method, time period, and several other filters
  • Search for variables across datasets, compare results, and download data
  • Includes thematic collections (federal statistical agencies and foundations)
  • OpenICPSR – repository of replication data sets associated with publications
  • Primary subject focus is the social sciences

Mendeley Data 

  • Publisher product (Elsevier)
  • Free to all researchers
  • Researchers can choose whether to grant access to the general public or to restrict access
  • Data receives a DOI
  • Search by subject terms, data type, and source (publication)
  • Indexes other data repositories, including ICPSR and Harvard Dataverse
  • Articles are linked to the data if the article is published in an Elsevier journal
  • Focus on science and social science disciplines

Repositories

Data Journals

Repositories

CDC Wonder

  • for the analysis of public health data

Data Discovery at the National Library of Medicine (NLM)

NIH Repositories

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program

  • Provides information on cancer statistics in an effort to reduce the cancer burden among the U.S. population

Data Journals

Best Practices for Choosing a Repository

  • Data is provided a persistent identifier, e.g. DOI or permalink
  • Subject-specific repositories should be considered first because the data is more likely to be found and reused

Want a resource added? Contact me!

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Jennifer Putnam Davis
Contact:
Greenblatt Library, AB-2002
706-721-8789