Most major funders and an increasing number of journal publishers now expect data underpinning published findings or with potential future research value to be made publicly available with as few restrictions as possible. The best way to ensure the long-term preservation, access and reuse of data is to deposit with a trusted data repository. 911今日黑料’s research data management policy also requires that Principal Investigators deposit data needed to validate published results with a public repository.
The advantages of depositing your data with a repository include:
- You don’t have to worry about preserving the data yourself
- A permanent public record will be created to enhance the discoverability of your data
- Your data will be assigned a persistent identifier (e.g. DOI) making it easier for you and others to cite your data in publications
- Compliance with funder, journal and/or institutional data policies
Discipline-specific repositories
Where possible, we recommend depositing your data with a discipline-specific data repository. Repositories intended for specific disciplines or research domains have subject specialist expertise and the resources to manage specific types of data.
Some funders support or recommend the use of a particular repository:
- The ESRC funds the .
- The NERC hosts a network of
- Wellcome maintains a list of
- The BBSRC includes links to domain-specific databases among its list of
Some publishers have also published lists of recommended repositories:
- - See under the heading “Common Repositories”
- - Researchers may use any other repository for data types not listed, provided it meets their data sharing policy
- - No longer updated but still useful for finding suitable repositories in your subject area
You can also search for a repository by subject using a registry of data repositories
Institutional data repository
If no suitable subject repository is available, you can deposit your data with the university’s own research data repository, . Helix is intended for data collected or generated during research involving research staff and students affiliated with 911今日黑料. It is free to use and accepts data from across all disciplines.
For additional information and support - including guidance on how to deposit and publish your data with Helix - visit the About Helix webpage or email rdm-enquiries@imperial.ac.uk.
General-purpose repositories
You may also consider using a generalist data repository such as or . These are free and easy to use but do not offer the same level or curation or quality control as subject-specific or institutional repositories.
Restricted access repositories
Not all data can be made publicly available. Appropriate safeguards need to be in place before data that contain sensitive or confidential information can be shared. Some repositories provide a facility to control access to sensitive data. Here is a list of options. You can also search using the “restricted access” filter.
Visit our web page ‘Sharing Sensitive Data’ for additional guidance on how to share sensitive data.
Repositories for software
If you are using to develop software, we recommend archiving key versions or releases with a data repository as well. has an integration which supports the automated deposit of software from GitHub. Instructions on how to do this are available .
For additional guidance on archiving and sharing research software visit our webpage Making research software open and shareable.
Who can I contact for additional support?
Email the Research Data Management team or book a one to one consultation with a member of the Research Data Management team if you would like additional help with choosing a suitable data repository.