Open Data
Repositories and long term data preservation
Data repositories provide long-term online access to research data.
The SNSF expects its funded researchers to put at least all data underlying a publication on an open repository as soon as the publication is available. Only repositories that are following the FAIR data principles are accepted (FAIR data must be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable). The SNSF provides a table outlining the requirements for FAIR repositories.
UniFr does not have its own institutional data repository, however UniFr is a founding member of OLOS which is a national platform for sharing and archiving research data.
Disciplinary repositories
- A big variety of appropriate disciplinary repositories are available in a raqnge of scientific domains.
- Examples for disciplinary repositories are: FORSbase for the Socials Sciences, DaSCH for the Humanities and others.
- In order to find a suitable repository for your data, please check the global registry of research data repositories re3data.org
General repositories
- Repository which is open to all disciplines
- Examples for general repositories are: OLOS, figshare or ZENODO
- The SNSF provides some more examples for general data repositories that fulfil their requirements.
Please be aware that it is the responsibility of the researcher to make sure that the repository complies with the SNSF requirements (non-commercial, following the FAIR Data Principles).
Funding open data
The SNSF allows applicants to request funds for data preparation, upload and validation. Data download is not covered. The SNSF may allocate up to CHF 10,000 for these activities.
If your open data will be produced in the frame of a SNSF project, do not forget to budget it under "Costs for granting access to research data"
Intellectual property and licensing
By putting your data on an open repository, you share it with the public. However, you can restrict the level of access and of usage by choosing different types of licences. Therefore, when selecting a repository, you need to consider the restrictions that you wish to put on your data. The choice of the repository might impose a specific licence e.g. Creative Commons.
EUDAT offers a License Selector Tool which can facilitate the selection of an adequate license for research data.
In case of doubt regarding licence issues or intellectual property please contact UNIFR Tech Transfer.