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Data Management Services

This guide will assist Clemson researchers in managing their data, and includes information on creating Data Management Plans for funding agencies.

Choosing a Data Repository

Repository checklist

  • Does your grant or funding agency require a specific repository?

  • Is there a repository that specifically supports your discipline?

  • What are the repository’s policies?

  • What is the level of access, restricted or open-access?

  • Do services include persistent identifiers and pathways for discovery?

  • What is the longevity of the data in the repository?

  • What support do they offer in the curation process?

  • Are there fees for sharing data and/or curation?

Choosing a Data Repository

A simple and effective way to share your research materials is to publish them in a repository. A repository is a storage facility (often also a preservation 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 scholarly knowledge. Materials that are deposited into a repository should be:

  • Publication-ready, or data not likely to be modified 
  • Searchable and browsable 
  • Retrieved or downloaded easily 
  • Citeable 
  • Well-documented, to facilitate understanding and re-use

A wide variety of institution-based and discipline-specific repositories exist for researchers to choose from. 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

Locate Data Repositories & Datasets

  • re3data.org

    The Registry of Research Data Repositories provides a portal to locate suitable places to deposit digital research data for public accessibility and to locate data sets for reuse. Search for repositories by subject, content type, or country.

  • Figshare

    Figshare promotes open sharing of research outputs including slide decks and data files up to 5 GB. Search, browse or upload data files.

  • Zenodo

    A data repository that accepts research outputs from across all disciplines and assigns a doi (digital object identifier) during upload.

  • GitHub

    A general repository designed for software code. Some services may require a subscription fee.

  • Dryad

    A non-profit repository that integrates data curation with manuscript submission. Primarily focused on biological sciences. Many publishers are member organizations.

  • NIH Data Sharing Repositories

    Listing of data repositories supported by the National Institutes of Health or approved for use by grantees.

  • Data.gov

    Search for research data sets published by government agencies.

  • Harvard DataVerse

    Repository open to all scientific data from all disciplines worldwide. Advanced search and filtering functions.

  • DOE Data Explorer

    Locate datasets from the U.S. Department of Energy.

  • IEEEDataPort

    Free upload and access of any research dataset up to 2TB from IEEE, a professional organization advancing engineering, computing, and technology information.

  • ICPSR

    The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, managed by the University of Michigan, is a free data repository for research outputs in the social sciences.

  • OAD Data Repositories

    Listing of open data repositories by discipline with links to websites. Derived from the Open Access Directory. Open data means it is accessible and freely re-usable without additional permission.

 

Important Considerations:
Privacy, Confidentiality, and Intellectual Property

It's important to understand what obligations you as a researcher have to protect your subjects' rights, as well as to understand who has rights to the data you produce. 

Research involving human subjects requires prior approval and is subject to review and oversight by Clemson's Institutional Review Board. Restrictions may apply to managing and sharing research data.

The Clemson University Intellectual Property Policy (PDF) addresses ownership of research data or results created by an employee.