Guides: Research Data Management: Data Repositories and Archives

Evaluating Repositories

A simple and effective way to make your data accessible is to store it in a repository. A repository is a storage facility (sometimes also a storage and curation facility) where users can upload and download their data, make it accessible and discoverable, all in an effort to fulfill grant requirements and/or support the free sharing of scientific knowledge.

There are some things to keep in mind when selecting a repository. Data in a repository should be:

Persistent (not likely to be modified)
Searchable and browsable
Retrieved or downloaded easily
Cited

A wide variety of institution-based and discipline-specific repositories exist for digital data. The repository itself should be:

Appropriate for the type of data you generate
Appropriate for the audience of the repository (so they will make use of your data!)
Open access

If both a discipline-specific repository and an institution-based one exist for your data, then consider depositing in both locations to maximize discovery and safety of the data.

Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research by National Science and Technology
Publication Date: 2022

Finding Repositories

Multidisciplinary Repositories

Dryad
An international repository of data underlying scientific and medical publications, particularly data for which no specialized repository exists. All material in Dryad is associated with a scholarly publication. Most data in the repository are associated with peer-reviewed articles, although data associated with non-peer reviewed publications from reputable academic sources, such as dissertations, are also accepted. Dryad is a non-profit organization.
DataONE
An international federation of data repositories containing earth observations data, including data from fields such as ecology, biology, evolution, and environmental sciences such as hydrology, oceanography, and atmospheric science. DataONE is a federation with participation from hundreds of field stations, universities, and government agencies through the DataONE Member Nodes.
Figshare
Scientific publishing as it stands is an inefficient way to do science on a global scale. FigShare allows you to share all of your data, negative results and unpublished figures.
DigitalGeorgetown
This open access Institutional Repository preserves and makes available scholarly research by Georgetown's faculty, students, institutes, centers, journals, and organizations. The IR includes conference papers, images, peer-reviewed scholarly articles, preprints, technical reports, theses and dissertations, working papers, research datasets and more.

The Graduate Health & Life Sciences Research Library at Georgetown University Medical Center

Research Data Management

Evaluating Repositories

Finding Repositories

Multidisciplinary Repositories