Sharing data

You have several choices when it is time to deposit your data. Which repository you decide to use will be informed by who your funder is, what they require, and the reputation of the repository.

Where to deposit your data

If your funder has specified a particular repository, then you should deposit your data with the recommended service. The SHERPA JULIET database provides a summary of the data archiving policies of several funders.

Deposit your data in our Research Data Leeds repository if your research is funded by any of the UK Research Councils, Wellcome Trust, CRUK or Horizon 2020, and they have not specified another repository.

In both cases, you should email the data DOI or URL to the University Research Data team.

You can also deposit in a generic repository such as FigShare and Zenodo.

Check the quality of external repositories

If you have found an external repository, and are unsure of whether it is of a suitable quality, there are some things to consider.

Ask yourself:

• Have you seen favourable references to it?
• Are others using the service?
• Is there a community to support the repository?
• Are data sets easy to cite?
• Will others be able to find your data?
• Are you happy with the reuse licence options?
• Can you apply an access embargo period if needed?
• How long can data be stored?
• Is the storage space sufficient?

A useful checklist for evaluating data repositories is available from the Digital Curation Centre.