Data Repositories
The University Libraries offer both data preservation solutions and data preservation consultation. Research data are often subject to retention policies as well as preservation and sharing mandates by funding agencies. Identifying an appropriate location for storing your data is necessary to maintain legal and regulatory compliance.
Long-term retention and continued access to data depends on data being stored in an adequate and appropriate repository. Most funding agencies will require you to include details about your choice of repository in a data management plan.
You should evaluate a potential data repository in the following areas:
- Cost
- Scope and audience
- Acceptable data formats
- File size limits
- Types of access restrictions
Registries and directories of data repositories
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) Data Sharing Repositories
- Open Access Directory of Data Repositories
- PLOS ONE's List of Recommended Repositories
- The Registry of Research Data Repositories (re3data)
A brief list of cross-disciplinary repositories
- Dataverse - Hosted and maintained by Harvard
- Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM) - Hosted and maintained by UMD
- Dryad - Non-profit member organization hosted by North Carolina State University
- Open Science Framework - Maintained by the Center for Open Science
- Zenodo - Maintained by CERN and supported by OpenAIRE
Other repositories
- Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
- National Science Foundation Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR)
- USDA National Agricultural Library Ag Data Commons
Open Data
Not all data are required to be open access, public, or in open formats. However, should you be required to produce and disseminate data in open formats, the University Libraries can provide assistance for format migration, consultation for licensing, and repository selection. Additionally, we also assist with data attribution and documentation.