Find a data repository
Repositories can help you:
- manage your data
- cite your data by supplying a persistent identifier
- facilitate discovery of your data
- preserve your data over time
Selecting your repository
In choosing a repository for your data, first consider:
- Does your funder or a publisher require or suggest a specific repository?
See our Research Funder Requirements page for information on some of the common funders. - Is there a repository specific for your discipline or type of data?
The Registry of Research Data Repositories can be helpful in browsing options. - What are the desirable characteristics for a data repository?
See the following resources for specific guidelines:
While there are many options to choose from, we’ve highlighted a small set of trusted repositories – Harvard Dataverse, Zenodo, and Dryad – to help researchers quickly review key features in making their decisions. Please refer to each repository’s documentation for the most current information.
If you would like to discuss what might work for you and your data, or if you see an error in the information below, contact data-management@mit.edu.
Harvard Dataverse | Zenodo | Dryad | |
---|---|---|---|
File management | |||
File & dataset size limits |
2.5GB/file; 1TB per researcher | 50GB/dataset (contact to discuss larger datasets) |
300GB/dataset (contact to discuss larger datasets) |
Useful integrations | Open Science Framework (OSF); Dropbox |
Github (archive a Github repo in Zenodo) |
Zenodo (for software publication) Frictionless Data |
Versioning support? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Persistent, unique identifier support | DOI | DOI for each version with a “Concept” and DOI to represent “all versions” |
DOI |
Permissions & access | |||
Allows multiple administrators? | Yes | Yes for collections, unknown for individual items | Yes |
User guestbook? | Yes | No | No |
Data licensing options |
CC0 default; custom Terms of Use optional |
Creative Commons licenses for Open Access | CC0 required |
Allows embargo? | Yes | Yes | Yes, if allowed by journal |
Provides private URLs for peer review? |
Yes | Yes for software through Dryad integration; unknown for other situations | Yes |
Other access restrictions available? | Yes, allow access to specific accounts, and allow users to request access | Yes, limit access with custom terms of use | No |
Computational access |
Search API, Data Access API, and Dataverse Package for R on rOpenSci Project | OAI-PMH | REST API and Dryad Package for R on rOpenSci Project |
Administrative considerations | |||
Costs | Free up to 1TB | Free up to 50GB/dataset | Free to MIT community members based on MIT’s institutional membership. |
Usage analytics | Downloads
Follows Counter Code Of Practice for Research Data Usage Metrics (Make Data Count) |
Views, Downloads, Data volume, Unique views, Unique downloads
Follows Counter Code Of Practice for Research Data Usage Metrics (Make Data Count) |
Views, Downloads, Citations
Follows Counter Code Of Practice for Research Data Usage Metrics (Make Data Count) |
Trusted repository? * | Yes | Yes | Yes |
* Trusted repositories are those that commit to providing “reliable, long-term access to managed digital resources” (RLG-OCLC, 2002). “The TRUST Principles for digital repositories” offers a useful framework – Transparency, Responsibility, User focus, Sustainability and Technology – for evaluating the alignment of a repository to this mission.
Using data from a repository?
Cite the data to give credit to the data producer, enable others to use the data, and meet journal requirements.
We are grateful to the creators of the Generalist Repository Comparison Chart for their efforts on developing a concise comparison chart from which we took much inspiration for the content of this page.
Stall, Shelley, Martone, Maryann E., Chandramouliswaran, Ishwar, Crosas, Mercè, Federer, Lisa, Gautier, Julian, Hahnel, Mark, Larkin, Jennie, Lowenberg, Daniella, Pfeiffer, Nicole, Sim, Ida, Smith, Tim, Van Gulick, Ana E., Walker, Erin, Wood, Julie, Zaringhalam, Maryam, & Zigoni, Alberto. (2020). Generalist Repository Comparison Chart. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3946720