Library Services
When planning a research project, it is important that you consider how you will store and curate your data. In some cases, this will be dictated by the software and equipment you are using or the conventions of your discipline. In other cases, you may have to make a choice between several options.
These are likely to be some of the key factors in your decision-making:
You can use a multi-disciplinary metadata standards directory to help you: Metadata Standards Catalog (bath.ac.uk)
But you should also consider:
If you are not aware of any disciplinary standards these are some good file formats for the preservation of the most common data types:
The following sites provide further information on recommended formats for data sharing, reuse, and preservation:
UK Data Service recommended file formats
Library of Congress recommended formats statement (digital and non-digital formats)
Best practice is to deposit both the original file and an open format.
This may seem like an impossible task to know at the beginning of the research cycle but below is a ready reckoner:
NB: 1GB is assumed to be equal to 1024 MB, and so these examples are estimates.
Also think about the volume and types of data created by similar projects factoring in changes to timescales, number and type of data points or observations and changes to equipment or software.
We would advise against using data compression as this may impact the integrity of your data.
When you save your data files make sure that your filenames are consistent and meaningful to futureproof your research and prevent potential data loss. Future users of your data also need to be able to easily identify with the help of a top-level README file explaining contents.
We suggest that file and folder names follow the following convention:
ISO 8601 formatted date–2 additional pieces of metadata–specific sample/document ID–version
For example, for this document we would use:
20240509 – CU-RST-FFG-v1 (Date, Cranfield University, Research Support Team, File Format Guidance, version 1)
Things to note:
Use our file naming convention worksheet to make you think about naming conventions (and you can save it as your README file).
Before you deposit your research data into CORD in CERES, you need to select, prepare, organise, and document your data, check any legal and/or ethical issues, and determine which level of access you will give to your data.
Not all the data that you have created and/or collected will need to be preserved. The principal investigator (PI) should perform a data appraisal to determine the data that needs to be archived. During this appraisal, think about:
Gather all the data selected for preservation. Determine if all the data will be deposited together in a single folder, or if some of the data need to be deposited separately as they require separate persistent identifiers.
Ensure that the data are in an open format which enables re-use and helps to future-proof them as they will not depend on proprietary software formats which may no longer be supported in the future.
The UK Data Service also provide a data management checklist to work through.
Ensure that the data are structured and labelled consistently. Use meaningful file naming conventions and include documentation describing all the files and how to use them. The documentation should enable anyone to use and understand the data.
Check that you have legal permission to share your data. If your data contains any third-party copyrighted material, you must obtain permission to use and share these materials before depositing into CORD. Additionally, if your data contains any personal or sensitive information, ensure that you have explicit consent to share these data.
What level of access will your data require? Will the data be publicly available or will access only be available upon request? How will others be able to use and share your data? Determine how you would like to license your data by selecting the most appropriate data licence.
Datasets up to 1GB in size should be deposited into CORD in CERES via the submission form below.
If the data are associated with a publication (or publications), you should cite your data DOI in the data availability statement in the associated publication(s) and provide the full citation data in the reference list.
Only submit those files that are the final versions for publication as you will not be able to delete files. If you have mistakenly uploaded the wrong file(s) then contact us to let us know. You are responsible for consulting the guidance on file formats before submitting your data to the data repository.
If you want to deposit a single file greater than 1GB please contact the Library Services Research Support Team to discuss your requirement.
Datasets associated with journal articles should be deposited into CORD once the corresponding article has been accepted for publication. Upon approval into CORD, the dataset will be allocated a DOI, which should be included in a data availability statement that should be added to the article prior to publication.
We understand that not all data can or should be made open access immediately. There may be times when you want to delay the point at which people can access the data you upload. It is possible to apply a temporary embargo to your dataset.
There are several reasons you may want to apply an embargo. These could include:
Research data management — UK Data Service
Sharing your data with collaborators | Research Data Management (cam.ac.uk)
When you are ready to deposit data, click the button.
Please email the Research Support Team in Library Services.