Collection Policy

Eligibility

Datasets may be deposited in the Archive by registered users if they are the products of research undertaken by employees or students of the University, and the dataset can be made available for others to use.

Data types

Data of any type and in any discipline are accepted. Software code can be deposited, either in a standalone software item or as part of a dataset.

Data may be submitted in any file format. The Research Data Service provides guidance on recommended file formats for long-term preservation and re-use.

Charges

Datasets may be deposited by registered users free of charge.

Size limits

There is a size limit of 20 GB per deposit. Users who wish to deposit datasets larger than 20 GB should contact the Research Data Service for advice.

Terms and conditions of deposit

In depositing a dataset, the depositor accepts the Archive's Deposit Agreement. The Agreement is summarised below.

• The depositor must be either: the owner of the intellectual property rights in any material deposited in the Archive; or otherwise lawfully entitled to distribute the material on behalf of each and every rights-holder in the data;
• The depositor warrants that the dataset does not to their knowledge contain any false or misleading information, does not breach any law, and that depositing the data does not infringe the rights of any third party, including any owners of copyright in the data;
• By depositing the dataset, the depositor grants the Archive permission to manage, modify and distribute the metadata record and dataset in accordance with the policies of the Archive and any conditions of access specified by the depositor.

All rights in the data are reserved by the rights-holder(s), including any moral rights under the laws of intellectual property, such as the right to be acknowledged as the creator of the dataset.

Minimum requirements

To be accepted in the Archive and published, a dataset must conform to the following requirements:

• The metadata record must be a valid record in accordance with the requirements of the README file templateMetadata Policy;
• Files must be virus-free and uncorrupted. It must be possible to open all files, given the required software;
• Each dataset must include an openly available documentation file containing information about the dataset, including citation details, a copyright statement and licence notice, a file listing, and a description of the dataset and the methods by which it was created. The Research Data Service provides a README file template that depositors can use;
• If a dataset includes data obtained from research participants, any participant information sheets (PIS) and consent forms used in the data collection must be included with the deposit, so that the ethical basis for sharing the data can be established. This documentation will only be accessible to the Archive administrators and will not form part of the public dataset;
• Each file must have an associated licence statement which specifies the terms on which the data file(s) can be used. The Archive provides a selection of standard licence notices for open data and software, as well as an 'All Rights Reserved' option (which may be used, for example, where a dataset includes third-party copyright materials), and the option to upload licences for restricted datasets.

Metadata records

A metadata record will exist for each dataset. Each metadata record will be displayed on its own landing page at a unique URL, to which any registered DOI will resolve.

The minimum metadata that must be recorded for each dataset record are:

• Title
• Description
• Resource Type
• Creator(s)
• Rights-holder(s)
• Data Publisher
• Publication Year
• URL/DOI
• Rights/licence(s)
• Data availability (open/embargoed/restricted)

For each file uploaded the following metadata are mandatory:

• Access (open/restricted)
• Content
• Licence

All metadata records are openly available online and can be accessed and re-used by anyone without restriction and free of charge.

Access

Files deposited with the Archive may have the following access settings:

• Open: openly accessible without restriction;
• Embargoed: held under embargo for a fixed period, and made available on expiry of the embargo period.
• Restricted: available only to depositors, Archive administrators and any other authorised persons;

Open data files can be made available under a variety of standard licences, including Creative Commons and Open Source licences for software. The default recommended licence for open data files is Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY).

Files can be placed under embargo for up to 12 months from the date of deposit. The embargo should last no longer than the date of publication of any research findings that rely on or reference the dataset, unless there is good reason for continuing to withhold access to data, for example, to comply with the terms of a commercial or sponsorship agreement, or to protect intellectual property rights pending commercial exploitation or patent registration.

Selected files within a dataset may be restricted if they are required for administrative purposes but do not form part of the public dataset. Participant information sheets and consent forms included with datasets collected from participants are held as restricted files.

Where a restricted dataset is deposited in the Archive, the restricted files will not be deposited in the repository, but will be transferred to the Research Data Service by secure channel and maintained in secure University storage. A metadata record for the restricted dataset will be created as part of the deposit process, and any associated files that can be made publicly available, such as documentation files and the data access agreement, can be deposited and made accessible in the usual way.

Access to restricted datasets will be subject to an application and authorisation procedure and under the terms of a data access agreement.

Validation, approval and publication

Submissions will be reviewed by an Archive administrator.

If the submission fails to meet the minimum requirements it will be returned to the depositor with a request for the required information/changes.

The administrator may modify metadata elements to conform to house style, correct minor errors, ensure consistency with Archive policies, and add administrative metadata, but will not make substantive modifications to descriptive metadata without the prior approval of the depositor.

The accuracy and authenticity of the content of submissions will not be checked by the Archive Administrator and are the sole responsibility of the depositor.

Once a submission has been approved by an Administrator it will be accepted into the repository. At this stage:

• The metadata record will be made publicly available in the Archive;
• Data files that are not under embargo or restricted will become publicly available;
• Unless the depositor has elected not to register a DOI at this stage, the DOI will be registered and included in the metadata record;
• The data files will be securely preserved in the Archive's data centres.

DOI registration and version control

Once a DOI has been registered for the dataset, the dataset cannot be updated by the addition, removal or modification of data files. If the dataset needs to be updated, a linked version can be created with a new DOI. Any linked earlier versions will remain accessible but will link to and clearly signpost the latest version.

If a depositor anticipates that a dataset may require modification in the short term, for example in response to peer review, they may opt not to register the DOI when the dataset is first published. Once the depositor is content that the dataset is in its definitive state, they should contact the Research Data Service to ask for the DOI to be registered. Datasets should always be cited using the DOI from related publications.

Retention

Datasets deposited in the Archive will be retained for a minimum of ten years from the date of last access or for the retention period specified in any applicable policy or contract term, whichever is longer. Exceptions to this policy will be made only if the Archive is required to withdraw data in accordance with any applicable laws or policies or in response to a proven complaint.

Metadata records will be retained indefinitely, including those for withdrawn datasets. Where a dataset has been withdrawn, the metadata record will be updated to reflect this change in status.

Withdrawal

A dataset may be withdrawn on expiry of the minimum retention period following standard collection management procedures; in response to an identified breach of law or policy; or on receipt of a valid and proven complaint, in accordance with the Archive Takedown Policy.

Unless there is good reason to permanently delete a dataset, withdrawn datasets will not be deleted. The metadata record for a withdrawn item will be retained indefinitely, and modified to record the withdrawal of the data and any relevant information

Closure of service

In the event of the Archive being closed down, all content will be transferred to an alternative service providing an equivalent level of preservation. Registered DOIs will resolve to datasets in the new location.