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Open research data enables reproducibility by managing and publishing data in ways that make them findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR). Read more about FAIR data practices.
Image credit: Sangya Pundir shared under CC-BY-SA 4.0
Publishing Your Research Data
Publishing data through a creditable repository allows for information and files to be discoverable. Dryad and Zenodo are free, accessible tools that can support UC researchers.
Dryad is an open-source, research data curation and publication platform. UC Santa Cruz is a partner of Dryad and offers Dryad as a free service for all UCSC researchers to publish and publically archive their data. Datasets published in Dryad receive a citation, a DOI, and can be versioned at any time.
Zenodo is an open-source repository supported by CERN. The repository archives data, code, and GitHub materials, is free, and provides DOIs and versioning.
Dryad and Zenodo have partnered to enable researchers to upload and publish a variety of materials, including software and code. After logging into Dryad with their Orcid ID, the researcher will be guided through a workflow that enables them to upload code and software to Zenodo, and data to Dryad. The materials are assigned DOIs and separate citations. Researchers uploading software to Zenodo will have the opportunity to assign an appropriate license.
When uploading to Dryad, select "upload software" to send code, scripts, and software to Zenodo.
Note: Your research funder may require that data be deposited in a specific repository, or your discipline may offer a disciple-specific repository. For example, the NIH supports a number of repositories specifically designed for genomic and clinical data for health sciences. There are many other data repositories, and research@library.ucsc.edu can help you decide the best home for your data.
Many funding agencies require that funding proposals include a data management plan (DMP). We recommend using the California Digital Library's DMPTool to create your plan.
Good data management practices will increase the chances that your data meet the F.A.I.R. criteria. These details will be included in your data management plan, as well as any Institutional Review Board applications.
1) ORGANIZE files logically. Establish a file naming structure.
2) PROTECT your data from unauthorized access and data loss.
2) DOCUMENT data decisions and details, often captured in a readme file.
3) CHOOSE open file formats, or save in both a proprietary format (e.g. Excel) and a open format (e.g. csv).
4) SHARE your data and code in a repository such as Dryad.
See more details about data management best practices from the DMPTool.
The land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.
The land acknowledgement used at UC Santa Cruz was developed in partnership with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chairman and the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program at the UCSC Arboretum.
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