Publishers and journals are more and more requiring datasets to be deposited and made accessible via repositories. However, with thousands of options available, choosing a data repository is becoming extremely difficult.
FAIRsharing, DataCite and a group of publishers have joined forces to propose a set of 7 essential criteria and 11 desirable criteria that journals and publishers believe are important for the identification and selection of data repositories.
According to the 7 essential criteria described in their pre-print article, if you are looking for a repository, you should choose one that:
- is in production and accepts data submissions;
- makes access condition clear;
- makes data reuse condition clear;
- makes data deposition condition clear;
- has a data preservation policy;
- assigns persistent identifiers;
- has a contact point, team or helpdesk to assist users.
These criteria are intended to be used by:
- researchers, when they are preparing to publish the data underlying their findings;
- journals and publishers, to provide researchers with consistent recommendations and guidance on data deposition;
- data repository developers and managers, to develop repositories with features adapted to the needs of researchers.
See the pre-print article for more details on the criteria.
