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Why publish research data?

Publishing research data bring numerous benefits, but it can be challenging to find the right balance between open science and responsible data management. The process can also seem unclear and time-consuming. However, the effort is highly rewarding – below are the key reasons why opening your dataset is beneficial:

• Serves as a scientific merit for a researcher
• Increases research visibility and citations
• Enhances research transparency, reproducibility and reliability
• Saves researchers’ time by allowing the reuse of already collected data
• Fosters multidisciplinary collaboration – open data enables the integration of datasets from different fields, creating new research opportunities
• Fulfills many funders requirements and increases societal impact of research
   

Step I. Prepare your data for publishing

Start preparing your dataset by choosing what data to publish. This could include:  

• Data that is needed to replicate findings published in a journal/conference
• Data with long-term value that can be reused by the scientific community  

Typical types of data are:  

• Measurement data from experimental research including raw and/or processed data 
• Anonymized interview and/or survey data
• Software, research protocols and methods, see Software as a research outcome   

Before releasing your research data openly, make sure it is not subject to legal restrictions, such as privacy protection. Whenever in doubt, contact researchdata@aalto.fi. Reasons not to openly disseminate your data set include:  

• Your data contains personal data collected from human subjects, and the data cannot be anonymized to protect the privacy of the subjects (see Handling personal data)  
• Your research data is related to research outcomes that can be used commercially or industrially (see Publishing and commercialization) 
• Your research data constitutes an export of a dual-use item and thus may require a license from the authorities (see Publishing and export controls)

Informing the research participants

When collecting data from humans, remember to inform the research participants, that you will publish and archive the data. Research participants must always be informed about the reuse of data. FSD provides comprehensive instructions on informing research participants:

Documenting research data

To make your dataset understandable enough for reuse, write a good description for it to the repository.  

• See Data documentation, folder organization and repository metadata

Step II. Upload your data to repository

We recommend publishing your data in scientific data journals or in reliable discipline-specific repositories, if such are available in your research field. In other cases, we recommend as a general-purpose data repository.

Choosing a suitable data repository

When choosing a suitable data repository, pay attention to at least the following:

• The repository provides your dataset a persistent identifier (e.g. DOI, URN). This improves the findability of the data and enables it to be cited.
• The repository has a certification to proof the trustworthiness of its operations (e.g. CoreTrustSeal, ISO 16363 standard).
• The repository uses a widely recognized metadata standard and publishes machine-readable metadata.
• The repository lets you choose the terms and licenses under which your data can be reused (e.g. open, embargoed, or restricted access).

Here’s a more detailed list of options: 

Scientific data journals  

• Scientific data journals describe sets of research data instead of presenting analyses and findings based on these data sets. Scientific data journals may be a good option if you have research data with long-term value. Multidisciplinary scientific data journals include Data in Brief and Scientific Data. Discipline specific data journals include Chemical Data Collections, Geoscience Data Journal and Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data.  

Discipline-specific data repositories  

We recommend submitting your data to a discipline-specific, community-recognized repositories when possible. To find a data repository, you can start with these services: 

• List of by journal Open Research Europe  
• List of by the data journal  
• List of in  
• List of based on the instructions of European Research Council (ERC) 
• Search the or the   

General-purpose data repositories  

General-purpose repositories are not limited to any domain or discipline, but they accept any kind of research data. We recommend Zenodo as a general-purpose repository. Below are service descriptions for three repositories:   

• Zenodo,  
• B2SHARE 
• Fairdata.  

Here is also a video on how to upload a dataset to Zenodo:

Licensing the data

In the process of uploading the dataset to the repository, you will also need to choose the license and terms of use for your data set. These determine the availability and the conditions for reuse. Data repositories offer different options. Creative Commons -licenses are standard to define the terms of use for published datasets.  

• Read more about .

• Check the separate page on commercialisation: Publishing and commercialisation – Can I have both? Read more about 

Step III. Improve the findability of your data

The best way to make your dataset known is to follow the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). 

1. Ensure that you obtain a persistent identifier (DOI, URN) for your data which makes it linkable and citable.
2. Describe your data carefully to ensure that it is understandable and usable for secondary users. User structured and machine-readable metadata standards.
3. If possible, include a Data Availability Statement (DAS) to your article, in which you specify where the data is stored and under what terms it is available for reuse.
4. Remember to cite research data! Data should also be cited in accordance with good scientific practices. Please note that if the research is still in progress, you can still deposit the data in an archive under an embargo and only publish the metadata. This way, you will obtain a persistent identifier for the data and can also cite unpublished data in your article.

Checklist for publishing data

1. Start planning the publishing of data well in advance, beginning with the data management plan. If you collect data from humans, be sure to inform the research participants.
2. Describe your data carefully. Use commonly accepted metadata standards.
3. Ensure that no legal or ethical restrictions prevent the publication of your research data.
4. Prefer trustworthy data repositories that are commonly used in your research field. Make sure your data is assigned a persistent identifier.
5. Select the terms of use or a license for your research data, which specify the conditions for the availability and reuse.
6. Publish the data and cite it in your research articles!

After you publish your dataset, please send the link or a dataset identifier toresearchdata@aalto.fi. Your dataset will be registered in Aalto Current Research Information System (ACRIS) for you. 

researchdata@aalto.fi offers support related to publishing data.