<p>Once your research project has come to an end, the final stage of open data is sharing your project data openly and in an accessible way.</p>
Firstly, you need to apply an open license to your data to grant others permission to reuse this data with minimal restrictions.
Applying an open license to your research data permits others to use your data under copyright law.
From the re-users' perspective, the presence of a license answers the question, "What can I do with this dataset?”
There are two main options:
Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0) – find out more about this license.
Creative Commons Attribution Only (CCBY) – find out more about this license.
This step is a key element for sharing your data openly, as it involves uploading data to an online, accessible repository.
Data repositories provide online storage for researchers to store research data and other research outputs. Depositing your data in a publicly accessible, recognized repository that assigns a globally persistent identifier ensures that your dataset remains available to humans and machines in a usable future.
The chosen repository will depend on the data type and whether it contains sensitive data.
While Open Research Europe is not a repository, you can find a list of potential repositories on the next page.
DATA TYPE
WHERE TO SUBMIT
WHAT TO INCLUDE IN THE DATA AVAILABILITY SECTION OF YOUR ARTICLE
Any, including transcript data
Any appropriate CESSDA repository
Title, DOI
DANS-EASY*
Any, but reserved for ISCPR member institutions
Open ICPSR
Any
UK Data Archive*
Arts and humanities data
Any appropriate DARIAH recommended repository
Social and economic data
UK Data Service
Qualitative social science data
The Qualitative Data Repository
Linguistics data
TalkBank
Archaeology data
Any appropriate CLARIN repository
Demographic data
DSDR
Complete metadata allows researchers to locate data they created and recall the circumstances and context under which they created and analyzed the data.
It also allows researchers outside the original research team to discover, understand, and use the data.
Good metadata is associated with the dataset it describes and is available in a machine-readable format.
Metadata standards exist to guide how your data and metadata should be structured, formatted, and annotated.
These standards can vary by discipline, so choosing the suitable metadata standard for HSS is essential. The RDA Metadata Standards Catalog lists standards by discipline and subject area.
When depositing your data in a repository, you must fill in as many fields as possible, as this information usually contributes to the metadata record. Some repositories require researchers to submit metadata files alongside the data.
When publishing your final manuscripts from your project, it’s recommended (and required at Open Research Europe) to include a Data Availability Statement alongside the related article.
This tells the reader of the article how, where, and under what conditions the data associated with your research can be access and reused.
A Data Availability Statement must list and describe each dataset and include a link to the relevant repository and the dataset’s persistent identifier.
You can find further details about writing a Data Availability Statement in our HSS Data and Supporting Materials guidelines, and some examples on the next page.
If your data must be restricted for legal, ethical, or other reasons, here’s further information on what should be included in your data availability statement.
Finally, it’s important to cite your datasets in your chosen repository in all related articles and to include links to your articles from your repository to ensure reciprocal discoverability.
It’s also worth considering publishing a Data Note for your data, which enhances the discoverability, usability, and reproducibility of your data.
Data Notes are short, peer-reviewed articles that describe how and why you created a dataset, including:
Dataset rationale, protocol, and validation details
Information about any limitations of the dataset
Information on where and how to access the dataset as part of a data availability statement
Reference to the dataset using a formal data citation
Find out more about publishing a Data Note.