3.6 Plans for Archiving & Preservation

Funder Compliance

If your research was funded by an agency with a data sharing requirement, archiving your data on a personal or lab computer at the end of your project is not compliant. This applies to any federal agency with over $100M in R&D.

Best Practice: Disciplinary Data Repositories

Use a repository already established for your research domain. This ensures your data is described according to the standards in your discipline. The sites listed under "Useful Links" can help you identify one, or you can contact us for assistance.

USU's Institutional Repository: DigitalCommons @ USU

You may archive your data in the DigitalCommons@USU repository at no charge to you. Any member of the USU community is welcome to deposit research data, if the requirements below are met. Data deposited in DigitalCommons@USU is given a DOI and is assigned a CC-BY 4.0 license unless the depositor requests otherwise. Contact researchdata@usu.edu to deposit data.

Requirements for Depositing Data into DigitalCommons @ USU

USU has a few requirement for those who wish to deposit data in DigitalCommons @ USU
- Depositors must submit a completed, signed Deposit Agreement- Data must be described and include a README file. A template is available if you need one.
- Data containing sensitive or personally identifiable (PII) information will not be accepted. This information must be removed before making data public.
- Data should be saved in standard, stable, non-proprietary formats whenever possible. See file formats form more information.
- A CC-BY 4.0 license will be applied to your data unless you specify otherwise.

General Data Repositories (Free)

Another option is to deposit your data in a cost free repository such as Zenodo or figshare. These accept a wide variety of data types and formats from any discipline.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Data stored on a locally-based server DOES NOT MEET USU’s obligation for permanent public access. Data that results from a federally funded research project must to be transferred to a public repository, discipline-specific repository, or DigitalCommons@USU to meet this obligation.