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Metadata for Data Management: A Tutorial: Data Repositories

Library Data Services

Library Data Services caters to researchers interested in working with data, mapping, texts, visualization, and technology. Many of these services are available online. Davis Library Data Services, located on the second floor of Davis Library, offers:

A computing lab with specialized software for GIS and data visualization & analysis.
Walk-in assistance provided by knowledgeable student consultants during set hours.
Consultations with specialists for more in-depth inquiries (by appointment).
Spaces for collaboration and presentation, complete with white boards and external displays.
Technology short courses and programs that promote digital scholarship.

Why deposit in a data repository?

Depositing your dataset in a data repository can:

Fulfill funder requirements for open and/or preserved data
Share research with a larger and often disciplinary audience
Improve online discovery
Increase citation rates
Preserve data for the long-term

Data repositories may require specific metadata standards and formats in order to deposit data. It is important to determine metadata standards used by a repository before beginning the metadata plan for your data.

It is important to have a conversation with repository staff about your project prior to listing the repository in your data management plan. The specifics of your project will determine whether a repository is able to accept your data deposit.

Repository Directories and Two Local Repositories

The following websites are great places to start looking for repositories:

Libraries' Research Data Toolkit - Choosing a Repository
This page provides a number of considerations to evaluate in choosing repository, using three repositories available to UNC researchers as examples.
Open Access Directory: Data Repository
This list of data repositories is part of the Open Access Directory. It covers data repositories from many individual disciplines as well as multidisciplinary repositories.
re3data
This is a global repository of research data repositories in different disciplines from health sciences to the humanities.

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The Carolina Digital Repository (CDR) is available to UNC researchers at no charge. See the Choosing a Repository page for more detail.

Carolina Digital Repository
The Libraries' repository is available for UNC faculty, staff and students to deposit research works, including data sets, resulting from their work at the University.

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