You are expected to make research data accessible
Umeå University’s policy for managing research data recommends that you share research data upon completion as per the Swedish Research Council’s guidelines and the FAIR principles. Research data that comply with the FAIR principles should be searchable, accessible, interoperable between systems, and reusable.
By describing and, if possible, publishing research data in an open repository, others can find and use them. Many funding bodies also require you to show how you have shared data.
Guidelines for managing research data
Benefits to making data accessible
Openly accessible research data are part of open science and make it possible for other researchers to use and build on your research.
There are many reasons for making data accessible:
- You can create searchable and citable research output that can be included in your CV.
- Your research will be disseminated more widely, which may lead to your articles being more cited.
- Reviewers can check that your research findings are reasonable.
- Research funding bodies can easily follow up on their investment.
Choose a repository that complies with the FAIR principles
There are many different repositories to choose from, from subject-specific to general. Choose a repository that complies with the FAIR principles. This means, among other things, that research data should be assigned a DOI or another identifier and that the data description should be freely available and searchable.
Many journals require you to make data openly accessible. By describing data in an open repository instead of sharing data through supplementary material to articles, you avoid data ending up in a grey area where they are not visible.
Many benefits to avoiding supplementary material
Research data made available in a credible repository become searchable and can be cited as your own research output. You can also update a directory entry when needed, which is not possible with supplementary material to a research article. A plan for making your research data accessible in credible repositories will also help you plan and prepare your scholarly publications.
In individual cases, supplementary material can be a good option if you publish a manuscript, but you should use this option very sparingly.
Is it possible to share sensitive data?
Research data supported with public funding must be made accessible according to the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”. Research data with high protection value cannot be made openly accessible, but you can share descriptions of these data.
Share through Researchdata.se
You can share data with high protection value via the Researchdata.se portal by archiving them at the responsible department. In this case, you publish a description of your research data (metadata) in Researchdata.se and share the data upon request. Anyone interested in accessing research data can submit a request for access to Umeå University via Researchdata.se. To make restricted research data accessible in this way, the department must adhere to the DOI rules for research data.
Contact the research data support team and your department’s archives coordinator to see if this model is available at your department.
Read more about research data with high protection value
Do you have questions about research data?
The University has a cross-functional team that supports you with research data issues in areas such as archiving, legal affairs, IT support, open data, and information security. You can contact the research data support team using the following form:
Contact the research data support team if you have questions
