Skip to Main Content
Kornhauser Health Sciences Library

Health Sciences Research Data Management: Data Repositories

Finding a Home For Your Data

Data repositories are designed to store, preserve, and provide access to your research data. Deciding where to store your data can be a daunting task. There are many repositories and repository finders that can help you with deciding which would be best for your project and your data.

Start Here

 

The NIH DMSP policy includes a Supplemental Information Notice which supplies guidance on selecting a repository for data resulting from NIH supported research.

Section 2-A gives a list of 75 domain-specific data sharing repositories along with links that take you to instructions on how to submit your data or how to access data that has already been submitted.

Section 2-B gives guidance on repository selection if your data does not fall into a specific domain.

Regardless of where you are receiving funding from, this is the recommended place to start looking for a repository for your data.

Repository Finders

NIH Repositories for Sharing Scientific Data

In general, NIH does not endorse or require sharing data in any particular repository, although some initiatives and funding opportunities will have individual requirements.  Overall, NIH encourages researchers to select the repository that is most appropriate for their data type and discipline. See Selecting a Data Repository.

Browse through this listing of NIH-supported repositories to learn more about some places to share scientific data. Note that this list is not exhaustive. Select the link provided in the “Data Submission Policy” column to find data submission instructions for each repository. 

Can't find a repository that suits your data? Here are several more resources:

Data Repository Finder

Helps researchers find data repositories where they can share data as they develop and implement their NIH Data Management and Sharing Plans. Repositories are added on an ongoing basis.

re3data

Re3data is a global registry of research data repositories that covers research data repositories from different academic disciplines, offering detailed descriptions of more than 2600 repositories.  It includes repositories that enable permanent storage of and access to data sets to researchers, funding bodies, publishers, and scholarly institutions. Re3data promotes a culture of sharing, increased access and better visibility of research data.

FAIRsharing

A curated, informative and educational resource on data and metadata standards, inter-related to databases and data policies. Explore and locate databases for depositing your data, learn more about data standards, and get updates on changes in data policies across disciplines. 

Repository Finder 

Repository Finder, a pilot project of the Enabling FAIR Data Project led by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in partnership with DataCite and the Earth, space and environment sciences community, can help you find an appropriate repository to deposit your research data. The tool is hosted by DataCite and queries the re3data registry of research data repositories.

As part of the FAIRsFAIR project, which aims to supply practical solutions for the use of the FAIR data principles throughout the research data life cycle, the Repository Finder is extended to query for repositories relevant to FAIRsFAIR Project.

scientific data

Provides examples of repositories for a number of disciplines including:

  • Biological sciences: Nucleic acid sequence; Protein sequence; Molecular & supramolecular structure; Neuroscience; Omics; Taxonomy & species diversity; Mathematical & modelling resources; Cytometry and Immunology; Imaging; Organism-focused resources
  • Health sciences
  • Chemistry and Chemical biology
  • Earth, Environmental and Space sciences: Broad scope Earth & environmental sciences; Astronomy & planetary sciences; Biogeochemistry and Geochemistry; Climate sciences; Ecology; Geomagnetism & Palaeomagnetism; Ocean sciences; Solid Earth sciences
  • Physics
  • Materials science
  • Social sciences
  • Generalist repositories

Repository by Discipline

Fairsharing

A directory of life sciences databases and reporting standards

Dryad

Dryad is an open-source, research data curation and publication platform. Datasets published in Dryad receive a citation and can be versioned at any time. Dryad is integrated with hundreds of Journals and is an easy way to both publish data and comply with funder and publisher mandates.

figshare

A multidisciplinary repository where researchers can share research data online in a citable, sharable and discoverable manner. Unlimited space and 1GB of private storage space for free. All file formats accepted and given DOI's when published.

ICPSR - Deposit Data

A site to store, curate and share scientific data so others can reuse the data and validate research findings.

KNB

The Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity (KNB) is an international repository intended to facilitate ecological and environmental research. Share, discover, access and interpret complex ecological data.

Nature.com Recommended Data Repositories

List of scientific data repositories broken down by subject area, recommended by nature.com.

NIH Data Sharing Repositories

NIH-supported data repositories that make data accessible for reuse.

Open Access Directory: Data Repositories

A list of repositories and databases for open data.

PLOS Recommended Repositories

PLOS identified established repositories, recognized and trusted within their respective communities.

PUBLISSO

An open access publishing platform for life sciences

DOI for RDM

DOI, or digital object identifier, is a system used to identify intellectual property in the digital environment. These unique identifiers can be attached to data sets as well as scholarly articles and books.

Attaching a DOI to your data set provides benefits such as data citation, metrics, altmetrics, and accessibility now and in the future.

Discover. Create. Succeed.