Skip to Main Content
The HSHSL is a part of the University of Maryland, Baltimore | My UMB The Elm UM Shuttle Blackboard
Library Logo

601 West Lombard Street
Baltimore MD 21201-1512

Reference: 410-706-7996
Circulation: 410-706-7928

Open Science Framework (OSF): Home

About

OSF is a platform for researchers in all disciplines to store, manage, and share their research outputs, including research data. It is a part of the NIH's Generalist Repository Ecosystem Initiative, making it an ideal place to publicly share non-sensitive research data in compliance with the NIH's data management and sharing policy.

Researchers at the University of Maryland Baltimore use OSF for preregistering studies, privately make files available to collaborators and publicly share outputs. This guide provides information to help you get started using OSF. For questions not answered here, please email data@hshsl@umaryland.edu. 

Why Use OSF?

OSF has a number of features that can make it a useful part of your research process:

  • Free for researchers. OSF is supported by funding from member institutions (including UMB) and the non-profit Center for Open Science.
  • Adaptive for a variety of research use cases. An OSF project space can be configured as a lab site, individual or collaborative research space, or as a static page for publicly hosting research data, presentations, or other outputs. 
  • Compliant with funder requirements for data sharing. OSF is part of the NIH's Generalist Repository Ecosystem Initiative (GREI) and meets the agency's desirable characteristics for data repositories.
  • Projects linked with others at UMB. All projects publicly shared by UMB-affiliated researchers can be discovered from the UMB OSF page. 
  • Long-term preservation. The Center for Open Science maintains a preservation fund to guarantee at least 50 years of read access hosting. Find more details on OSF's FAQ and Backup and Preservation Policy.

Learn More About OSF

This guide lays out several different use cases of OSF, but you can find more trainings and information through events and webinars from the Center for Open Science.

If you have specific questions about using OSF for your research, contact UMB's Center for Data and Bioinformation Services.

Acknowledgments

This guide was originally created by Isaac Wink with guidance from Amy Yarnell and Irma Fraticelli-Rodriguez as part of the Data Services Continuing Professional Education program.

Data Services Librarian

Profile Photo
Amy Yarnell
she/her
Contact:
ayarnell@hshsl.umaryland.edu