Data repositories provide both storage and sharing, and facilitate the effective organization and description of research data. To ensure your data remains intact and accessible, you must plan for secure storage and maintenance.

Digital Commons@URI

The University's institutional repository, DigitalCommons@URI, can store and share relatively small, static datasets, such as txt, xml, or tab-delimited files. The data can either be openly shared or protected by authentication mechanisms. Data can also be placed under an embargo to delay full release. Researchers can also use DigitalCommons@URI to describe datasets stored elsewhere--with links to the data, or with contact information for the data. All descriptive information in DigitalCommons@URI will be available to search engines. You may also prefer to use an external data repository. URI does not monitor or manage these external repositories, and the list is meant as a resource guide, not as an endorsement. The repository you choose for storing your data will depend on the research and funding requirements of each unique project. 

Directories of Data Repositories

• Registry of Research Data Repositories (re3data)

• National Library of Medicine (NLM) NIH-supported Data Sharing Repositories

• NIH-supported Scientific Data Repositories

• Open Access Data Repositories

Selected Data Repositories

• Dataverse: The Dataverse Network, created by Harvard, is open to all researchers to submit data. All file formats are supported by the Dataverse Network with a maximum size of 2GB per file.

• Dryad: Any researcher may deposit a dataset to Dryad, an open data publishing platform, for a base fee of $150, with overages for datasets exceeding 50GB. Dryad's curators will fully evaluate each dataset for criteria such as file format stability and metadata accuracy, prior to publication. Data submissions to Dryad can satisfy requirements for preservation and availability for funders such as NIH. As a first-time user, you will need ORCID credentials to login to Dryad. If you do not already have an ORCID, the Dryad login screen will walk you through the process of creating one.

• Figshare+: A repository for all research ouputs (not just data) where content can be easily discovered, cited (using DOIs) and shared. All non-data content is released under a Creative Commons CC-BY license, and data gets a CC0 license. Please note that Figshare+ charges a fee for data publication services.

• Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR): A social science data curation organization with an excellent record of data management.