If you have a large number of files, zip them into manageable bundles before you start.
Name your files in a significant way and avoid using spaces, dots and special characters; use hyphens (-) or underscores (_) to separate elements.
You can upload any type of file, but we ask you to use open formats whenever possible to ensure long-term preservation and accessibility.
Locate any data you want to upload along with any supplementary materials, such as a Read Me file. Of course, it should not be included in a compressed folder.
If you have an ORCID identifier make sure you have it to hand, you can enter this along with your personal details and with those of your co-authors.
If the data underpins a published paper you will need to include the identifier (DOI, handle, etc.) of the paper in the dataset record.
If you’re funded you will need to enter the funder name and your grant number.
Have you checked your funder policy on research data? There may be specific requirements.
Do you know how long your data needs to be kept? Your funder may specify a retention period.
Walk-through guide to depositing
This guide takes you through the steps required to deposit a dataset into Research Data Unipd.
New!Video guide to the deposit into Research Data Unipd
Log in and User Work Area
UniPD institutional users can access to the repository through Single Sign-On (SSO), using the Log In button on the top left.
The first page is your User Work Area. There you can view all the deposits you are still working on or have already made. You can view only the records you have created or that have been reassigned to you, not those where you are cited as the creator of the data deposited by someone else.
Icons next to each record indicate what you can do with the record.
To return to this screen at any time select Manage Deposits from the top left menu.
Across the middle of the screen, just below the “Display Results” bar, there are four check boxes each describing the record's status. Check the boxes of the records you want to view:
User Work Area: Records you are still working on: these can be Viewed, Deleted, Edited, or Deposited by you.
Under Review: Records you have already deposited and are in the Review Queue waiting to be checked and released by a Reviewer. These can be Viewed, but if you want to edit you will need to return them to your User Work Area using the option in the Actions tab.
Live Archive: Records that have been deposited by you and are on the Live Archive. You can view these but if you want to edit them you will need to ask the Repository Administrators to return the record to your User Work Area.
Retired: Records that have been Retired or withdrawn, in the case of duplicates or other errors. Only Repository Administrators can manage them.
New Deposit
To make a new deposit, click on the blue button New Item, or click on New Deposit from the top left menu. This will create a new record.
There are four steps to submit a dataset:
Upload
Details
Subjects
Deposit
These screens can be filled in any order but if you do not move through the steps using the Next button you must use the Save and Return button or you'll lose your work.
Click on Save and Return also if you want to stop creating the record: you can come back to it later.
Any field marked with a yellow star must be completed.
Most fields have their own Guides: click on the icon for help completing them.
Upload
On this screen you can upload the files containing the dataset, plus any files containing supplementary information — e.g. a “Read Me” file. The metadata on this screen relates to the files uploaded, describing the file qualities rather than the dataset as a whole.
Uploading zip folders or single files will pull a copy of the folder/file onto the repository where it will be shown with an icon, the title and the size. This information, as well as the file type, will be extracted from the file itself.
Once you have completed your upload, more metadata fields will appear below.
Complete them as follows:
Visible to: Choose who can view the contents of the file. By default, you are invited to share your data with anybody.
You can set different levels of visibility for different files uploaded to a single dataset record. As an instance, while the data itself may be Open Access, visible to “Anyone”, you may want supporting documents to be reserved, so you should make them “Repository Staff only”.
Content type: What does the content of the file represent? Is it the whole dataset or just a part, or is it documentation?
Description: A brief description of what this file is.
Embargo date: If you have reserved this file, you may want it to become open in the future. Set the date at which you want this to happen here.
Remember that Visibility, the length of Embargo, and Open Access may be affected by funders, publishers and other issues. The reviewer may get in touch if there are any questions.
Licence: Choose a proper licence. By default, you are invited to choose a CC BY licence; this may be affected by funder or institutional policy.
Details
Use these fields to describe the dataset as a whole.
Title: The title of the published paper the dataset refers to or a short title by which the dataset as a whole can be identified.
Collection Description: Description of the data collection. If the data collection has an abstract, it should be entered here.
Keywords: Enter keywords or phrases that best describe this data collection, separated by commas (,)
Creators/Authors: List the people involved. Please select the name from the list when it appears, and the UniPD name and email address will auto-fill (avoid clicking on the email address itself).
Corporate Creators: List any companies or entities involved with the research.
Contributors: Add any other people who made a significant contribution but who do not warrant inclusion as creators of the dataset.
Research Funders: List the names of any funder associated with the research, along with the project title and number.
Time period: The date of creation/collection does not necessarily relate to the period to which data refer.
Statement on legal, ethical and access issues: Use this field to record anything relating to the ethical or legal status of the dataset.
Related resources: Link the dataset with other related datasets, publications, theses, documents, etc. You can also give a link to other versions/copies of this data that are stored elsewhere.
Most of the fields on this screen are optional. Still, they give you the opportunity to add information about the dataset: for instance, the geographic area covered, the timespan the research relates to, information on data processing and on activities related to any work made on the data to help with reuse.
Information entered in the Administrative Note field will only be visible to the reviewer and you can use it to communicate any queries to the Repository Staff.
Subjects
Select at least one main subject category, and optionally up to two other subject categories you think are appropriate for your submission. Please note that there may not be a perfect fit for your particular subject area, so please select the closest match or a higher-level term.
Deposit
Now you can choose to submit your dataset to the review queue clicking the Deposit Item Now button, or to save the information you inserted to enter in a second moment (clicking on Save it for Later button).
Clicking on the deposit button you grant Research Data Unipd the right to store your data and to make them permanently available publicly for free online. You declare that the material is your own intellectual property and that you understand that the repository does not assume any responsibility if there is any breach of copyright in distributing these files or metadata.
Revision Area ("Under Review")
Once Under Review, the record will receive a DOI identifier: you can see it from your User Work Area, clicking on the View Item icon.
If you want to retrieve a record from the Revision Area in order to amend it, choose the Actions tab in the middle of the screen. The Return to Work Area button will remove the record from the queue and you will be able to edit and redeposit it.
Once in the Revision Area reviewers will check the record. They will return it to you if there are any queries, otherwise, they will make it live on the archive.
Updating
If you wish to update your dataset, you don't need to make a new deposit as you have the possibility of using the New Version option.
Log into your User Area, select the item you wish to update (even if already open to public), click on the tab Actions and select New Version.
From now on, you'll be working on a new version that you can edit as you prefer clicking on Actions and selecting Edit item; after finishing don't forget to click on Deposit item.
Inside the repository, users will find the latest version first, but there will be a link to previous ones too. DOI identifier will be the same, as it represents all of the versions of your record.