- The Tri-Agencies (NSERC, CIHR, and SSHRC) have developed new policies requiring grant recipients to deposit their data. Find the policy here.
- Curation of data going into a repository enhances the the data and makes it easier to use and understand.
- Repositories allow data to be securely preserved, unlike local storage on a hard drive.
- If data is requested for to verify study results, it can be easily retrieved.
- The data can be made discoverable and reusable by other researchers (according to a license assigned by the researchers), who can then study new aspects that the original researchers did not. This also increases the number of citations and contributions made by the original authors.
- Researchers can find their own data more easily in the future, if they ever need to use it again.
Are you working with sensitive data, confidential data, or data connected to Indigenous communities? If so, please talk to the ARC or library first.
What are repositories? How to select a disciplinary repository?
Questions to Consider
- Does the journal you are publishing in have any repository suggestions or requirements?
- Does your discipline have any prominent repositories?
There are various solutions available, depending on the type of data, file sizes, and length of preservation required. Please contact us at the library (mwalter@langara.ca) for more information.