Depositing research data in a repository

Data repositories are digital platforms designed to securely store, organise and share research data. They provide long-term data storage and access for the scientific community as well as the wider public, promoting good data management practices.
Depositing data in a repository means creating a description (metadata record) for the dataset in a data catalogue and adding clear conditions for accessing the dataset.
This metadata record allows other users to easily find the dataset, get concise information about it, find out access conditions, and reuse the data after the research project has finished.
Data can be published in the repository in different ways by specifying the appropriate information in the metadata record.
  • Open data: data that is freely available to everyone without restrictions. It can be downloaded, used and redistributed free of charge immediately, subject to the specified licence conditions.
  • Restricted data: Data that can be accessed under specific conditions, such as registering or requesting access, contacting the owner or manager of the dataset.
  • Closed data: data that is not in the public domain and is accessible only to a limited number of persons, for example for internal use within the organisation or to protect sensitive information. A metadata record can be created in the repository for the closed data to inform other researchers and the wider public that such a dataset has been collected.
Sometimes researchers choose to make data freely available after embargo period. This means that the data is not publicly available for a certain period of time, although it will be opened in the future. Such a restriction may be due to copyright, intellectual property protection, publication requirements or commercial reasons.
During the embargo period, metadata is made available to inform future data and availability. This helps researchers and interested parties to learn about the dataset, its contents and possible access times after the embargo period. However, the availability of metadata may vary depending on the policy of the repository and the type of data.

Depositing research data in a repository

Data repositories are digital platforms designed to securely store, organise and share research data. They provide long-term data storage and access for the scientific community as well as the wider public, promoting good data management practices.
Depositing data in a repository means creating a description (metadata record) for the dataset in a data catalogue and adding clear conditions for accessing the dataset.
This metadata record allows other users to easily find the dataset, get concise information about it, find out access conditions, and reuse the data after the research project has finished.
Data can be published in the repository in different ways by specifying the appropriate information in the metadata record.
  • Open data: data that is freely available to everyone without restrictions. It can be downloaded, used and redistributed free of charge immediately, subject to the specified licence conditions.
  • Restricted data: Data that can be accessed under specific conditions, such as registering or requesting access, contacting the owner or manager of the dataset.
  • Closed data: data that is not in the public domain and is accessible only to a limited number of persons, for example for internal use within the organisation or to protect sensitive information. A metadata record can be created in the repository for the closed data to inform other researchers and the wider public that such a dataset has been collected.
Sometimes researchers choose to make data freely available after embargo period. This means that the data is not publicly available for a certain period of time, although it will be opened in the future. Such a restriction may be due to copyright, intellectual property protection, publication requirements or commercial reasons.
During the embargo period, metadata is made available to inform future data and availability. This helps researchers and interested parties to learn about the dataset, its contents and possible access times after the embargo period. However, the availability of metadata may vary depending on the policy of the repository and the type of data.