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Watch the video below or scroll down for how to share your research data in an OSF project space.
OSF can be an ideal platform for sharing your research data, but it is not suitable for all use cases. OSF may be a good data sharing option if you:
However, OSF is not the platform for you if:
Regardless of how you share your data, review it to make sure that it is ready for publication and reuse. While data preparation will vary depending on research type, some important steps to take include:
Folders are a convenient way of grouping related files together. The Files section of OSF operates similarly to the file explorer on your computer.
If need be, you can continue to move around files by dragging and dropping them to the right folder.
A license lets other users know how they are allowed to reuse your data and other components of your project. OSF supports a wide variety of license types, but two recommended ones are:
You can easily set a project-wide license that will apply to all files in your project space. If you want to include separate licenses for specific files, you can add them to the Components space.
OSF generates default citations based on the metadata you have entered for your project, but you have the option to customize it and provide a preferred citation. (For instance, if you have worked with a collaborator who is not part of the OSF project space, you will need to customize the citation to manually add them as an author).
Once you are sure that all the pieces of your project are ready to be shared, you can publish it, which will make it available to anyone on the internet. While it is possible to un-publish a project, its contents may have been cached by a search engine or crawled by a web scraper, so do not publish your project until you are sure that all data within it can be shared. Once a project has been published, you can continue to make changes to it, such as uploading or deleting files or editing the Wiki.
A DOI (or Digital Object Identifier) is a persistent identifier that makes it easier to index a resource and therefore improves its long-term accessibility and discoverability. Journals or funders may ask for your dataset's DOI in order to ensure that you have complied with sharing requirements.
For a detailed overview of metadata to include for your project, see the Metadata for Research Discoverability page.
Adding your datasets to the UMB Data Catalog enhances their discoverability and potential for reuse. Fill out this request form to let the Data Catalog know that you would like your datasets on OSF to be indexed.
OSF is a publicly available data repository that does not restrict user access. This fact should be reflected in the informed consent form provided to participants if your research involves human subjects. Consider using the following sample language as a starting point:
"Information you provide in this study may be used in the future without your additional informed consent by other researchers to advance scientific research and public health. At this time, we do not know the specific details of these future research projects. These projects may involve bringing together information from this study with information from other studies or sources outside typical research settings."
Sections 4 of the Data Management and Sharing Plan for NIH grants requires that applicants address data preservation, access, distribution, and associated timelines for the sharing of data generated by their research. This section provides some template language (adapted from the NIH's sample DMSPs) that you can utilize if you are using OSF to share your research data.
Repository where scientific data and metadata will be archived:
All data will be made available via a project space on OSF (Open Science Framework), a public repository supported by the Center for Open Science and shared under a CC0 (public domain) waiver for maximum reuse in subsequent research.
How scientific data will be findable and identifiable:
Datasets in OSF will be findable and identifiable through a digital object identifier (DOI) minted by OSF. Metadata regarding the funding of this research, including the NIH research organization registry (ROR) identifier, award title, and award number will be included as well.
When and how long the scientific data will be made available:
Data from the study will be publicly shared on OSF no later than [X months after completion of fieldwork, the time of publication, the conclusion of the award period, or similar timeline]. The Center for Open Science guarantees the accessibility of data made available via OSF for a minimum of 50 years.