Deposit Policy for UD Dataverse

Deposit Policy for UD Dataverse

Effective as of January 2, 2026. 

Definitions: 

Author, Researcher, Dataset Contributor, You: The UD-affiliated researcher depositing the dataset

Service, Repository: UD Dataverse

University, We: University of Delaware

User: The user accessing data through UD Dataverse 

About the Service

UD Dataverse is an institutional repository to archive, share, and discover research data created by UD researchers, including faculty, students, and staff. UD Dataverse is supported by the Library, Museums and Press and UDIT Research Cyberinfrastructure.

UD Dataverse is an archiving and sharing solution dedicated to research data compliant with many funder and publisher data management and sharing policies (DMSPs) and the FAIR Principles, which ensure that data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. The repository is built on Dataverse, a robust and open-source platform for data preservation and sharing developed by the Institute of Quantitative Social Science (IQSS) at Harvard University. When you deposit data into UD Dataverse, you receive a persistent identifier (DOI) to ensure your data is findable based on standardized metadata.

Benefits of the Service

Key features of UD Dataverse include: 

  • Persistent identifiers (DOI links) and data citations to enable discovery and sharing. A persistent identifier ensures your data is accessible long-term, as these links do not change. 
  • Guaranteed and secure storage for at least 5 years, with routine backups and technical safeguards (see Preservation Policy below) 
  • Multiple acceptable data types (e.g., numeric, text, geospatial), any file format, and capacity for larger datasets (see Dataset Requirements Below) 
  • Multiple licenses and custom terms to communicate appropriate uses (see Licensing Requirements below) 

Deposit Requirements

Authorship Requirements

You must have the permission of all authors for data to be widely shared online. At least one author must be affiliated with the University of Delaware. All authors must be credited, including student researchers. Data should be owned and controlled by the Researcher, who assumes authorship over the dataset. The Author assumes responsibility for ensuring the appropriate licensing is selected. 

Any concerns about permissions or copyright infringement should be directed to AskRDDC@udel.libanswers.com. 

Dataset Requirements

Data must be complete and in a publishable state. UD Dataverse is not designed for frequent updates. Data that needs to be updated frequently would be better suited in generalist data repositories like OSF, Zenodo, or Figshare. Read more about other data repositories.

By depositing your data, you certify that you are following any applicable IRB, FERPA, or HIPAA guidelines [1-link to Abbreviations below?]. Following the University of Delaware Information Classifications, UD Dataverse can accept up to Level II data. Level III data, such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected health information (PHI), UD NetIDs, and human subject information, cannot be stored and shared in UD Dataverse. 

Datasets must be published with accompanying documentation describing the data collection method, explanations of column names, and any software dependencies to view and use the data. At the very least, a README file in an interoperable file format (plain text or PDF) must be provided. Other forms of documentation might be file manifests, data dictionaries, codebooks, coding scripts, or instructions for accessing the data.

Additionally, when we deposit your research data to UD Dataverse, we need appropriate metadata to describe the dataset. At a minimum, we require: 

  • Name of dataset
  • Author(s) name and affiliation, including ORCIDs if available 
  • Description of dataset (less than 500 words) describing the purpose, nature, and scope  of the dataset 
  • Sponsorship information
  • Relevant links (to publications or funders)
  • Subject, selected from this list: 
    • Agricultural Sciences
    • Arts and Humanities
    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
    • Business and Management
    • Chemistry
    • Computer and Information Science
    • Earth and Environmental Sciences
    • Engineering
    • Law
    • Mathematical Sciences
    • Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
    • Physics
    • Social Sciences
    • Other

Datasets must follow the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) as much as possible. Library, Museums and Press staff will work with you to ensure your research data follows these principles and can be published. 

File Sizes

Researchers at UD have an initial storage allocation of 500GB (500 gigabytes). We may be able to accommodate larger datasets pending data storage availability and needs, and will evaluate these on a case-by-case basis. 

There is no size limit for individual files. To increase performance, we recommend that datasets made up of many files be compressed. 

Format Recommendations

UD Dataverse will accept any file type, but we prefer and recommend the interoperable, non-proprietary formats described below. 

Spreadsheets: Use CSV or TSV if possible, or XLSX (Microsoft proprietary format, but widely supported). Avoid the older Microsoft XLS format, which has less storage capacity and is less widely supported.

Text, such as data documentation: Use TXT, ODT, PDF, or PDF/A, or if necessary, Microsoft’s DOCX format. Avoid DOC, RTF, and WPD. If you are using PDF files, both formats are open and non-proprietary. The PDF/A file format is specifically intended for preservation, and will block certain features that make long-term preservation more difficult, such as linked or embedded fonts. 

Images: Use PNG or JPG if possible; TIFF or JPEG 2000 as alternatives (TIFF and JPEG 2000 files may require special viewers). Avoid formats that originate in proprietary tools such as Photoshop or InDesign (PSD, INDD).

Audio: Use mp3 or mp4/mp4a files whenever possible, as they are efficient in terms of size and widely supported.

Video: Use mp4 whenever possible.

For any material that you are uploading, it is wise to consider what tools are needed to access it. Consider the audiences whom you hope will want to view the material — will they have access to the tools they need? Could your material be converted into a format that can be viewed on free or open-source tools?  Library, Museums and Press staff can assist you with transforming your data to an open format. 

Licensing Requirements

You must assign a license to your dataset. The Creative Commons CC0 or CC-BY licenses are preferred and recommended. Datasets uploaded to UD Dataverse are assumed to be reused to contribute to open scholarship, but an open license is not required. 

 When you deposit material, you will be required to grant the University of Delaware a non-exclusive distribution license for the material that you are distributing. This license gives us permission to store your material and make it findable through the web. This non-exclusive nature allows you to retain your copyright and, therefore, your ability to share the material in other places besides UD Dataverse, if you so choose. The text of the license is below.

 UD DATAVERSE NON-EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION LICENSE

    To properly administer this Data Repository and preserve the contents for future use, the University of Delaware requires certain permissions from you, the author(s) or copyright owner. By accepting this license, you still retain copyright to your work. You do not give up the right to submit the work to publishers or other repositories.

    By accepting this license, you grant to the University of Delaware the non-exclusive right to reproduce, translate (as defined below), and/or distribute your submission (including the metadata and abstract) worldwide, in any format or medium for non-commercial, academic purposes only.

    The University of Delaware will clearly identify your name(s) as the author(s) or owner(s) of the submission, and will not make any alteration, other than as allowed by this license, to your submission.

    You agree that the University of Delaware may, without changing the content, translate the submission to any medium or format and keep more than one copy for the purposes of security, backup and preservation.

    You also agree that authorized users of your data have the right to use it for non-commercial, academic purposes as defined by the “fair use” doctrine of U.S. copyright law, so long as all attributions and copyright statements are retained.

    You represent that the submission is your original work, and that you have the right to grant the rights contained in this license. You also represent that your submission does not, to the best of your knowledge, infringe upon anyone’s copyright.

    If the submission contains material for which you do not hold copyright, you represent that you have obtained the unrestricted permission of the copyright owner to grant the University of Delaware the rights required by this license, and that such third-party owned material is clearly identified and acknowledged within the text or content of the submission.

    IF THE SUBMISSION IS BASED UPON WORK THAT HAS BEEN SPONSORED OR SUPPORTED BY AN AGENCY OR ORGANIZATION OTHER THAN THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU HAVE FULFILLED ANY RIGHT OF REVIEW OR OTHER OBLIGATIONS REQUIRED BY THAT CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT.

Preservation Policy

The University of Delaware has received funds from the National Science Foundation Campus Cyberinfrastructure program to pilot the UD Dataverse Data Repository for a period of 5-7 years. Deposits will be maintained and guaranteed for at least 5 years (until 2031). After 5-7 years, the University will explore alternate sources of funding to continue offering the Service. In the event we must cancel the Service, Library, Museums and Press staff will work with users to migrate their data elsewhere. 

We recommend that users keep a separate, archived copy of their data. The repository is primarily for sharing, and while data is securely backed up across multiple drives, UD Dataverse is located on a single server on the University of Delaware campus. Your archived copy could be stored on various cloud services available through UD, such as OneDrive or Google Drive. 

Data Security Policy

By depositing your data, you certify that you are following any applicable IRB, FERPA, or HIPAA guidelines. Following the University of Delaware Information Classifications, UD Dataverse can accept up to Level II data. Level III data, such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected health information (PHI), UD NetIDs, and human subject information, cannot be stored and shared in UD Dataverse. 

Dataset Contributors can select an access level upon initial deposit. You can decide whether to publish openly without restrictions, restrict access to UD only, or require that users create a login to access the data. Requiring a login will enable you to better track who is using and accessing your data. Please note that many federal funders, such as NSF and NIH, prefer or require completely open access to research data.

Privacy Policy

The UD Library, Museums and Press respects the privacy of its Service users. Please refer to the UD Privacy Statement, which explains how we collect, use, and disclose information that pertains to your privacy. When you access or use the Service, you signify your agreement to the Privacy Policy as well as these Terms of Use.

Appendix I: Abbreviations

FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable

FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

IRB: Institutional Review Board

NIH: National Institutes of Health

NSF: National Science Foundation

 

References

University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press. (n.d.). UDSpace Policies . UD Library. https://library.udel.edu/udspace-info/policies/

Arizona State University Library. (n.d.). Terms of use. Terms of Use – ASU Research Data Repository User Guide. https://asulibrary.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ARDRUD/pages/375685300/Terms+of+Use

University of North Carolina. (n.d.). Dataverse information – UNC Research Data Management Core. UNC Research Data Management Core. https://researchdata.unc.edu/dataverse-information/