Sharing data

  • WMO
  • Non-WMO

Funding bodies are increasingly requiring the data generated by research be published openly or under specific conditions. Additionally, some publishers now make publication of an article conditional on making the underlying data publicly available for others to consult

Sharing your data can:

  • Increase the transparency of your research;
  • Accelerate scientific discovery by enabling new (types of) research;
  • Enhance the visibility and impact of your research;
  • Create new opportunities for collaboration and expanding your network;
  • Provide a basis for replication of your research;

    Even if it is not required, Amsterdam UMC encourages open data sharing, unless prohibited by intellectual or commercial interests. This is also addressed in the SOP for Research Data Management (Phase 5: Archiving & open data).

    Fore more information, visit the website of Research Data Management (RDM) or contact the RDM helpdesk.

    Describe your data with metadata

    To ensure that others understand your research and what (type of) data your dataset contains, it is important to include metadata (data about your data). Various standards exist to help structure metadata (examples). When planning to publish in a data repository, check the respective metadata standards. Metadata can be categorized into two levels: for the overall research (how, what, why, by whom was data collected), and for the contents of the dataset itself (data dictionary). 

    For more information, consult: https://libguides.vu.nl/rdm/metadata 

    FAIR data

    For the reuse of research data, it must be stored in a Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) way. RDM provides tools and support, including Data Management Plans, to create FAIR datasets. Amsterdam UMC researchers can use the open data repository DataverseNL to share metadata and publish their FAIR datasets, either openly or under conditions for reuse.

    Define access conditions

    When sharing data, define clear access conditions. The principle of “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”  applies: your data should be “as open as possible” to facilitate reuse and to accelerate (other) research, but “as closed as necessary” to protect the privacy of the research participants.  

    Access conditions include: 

    • Open: anyone can access to the data;
    • Restricted: access is granted to external users if specific conditions are met;
    • Closed: data is not accessible to externals users.

      It is also possible to combine these conditions, f.e. open access to part of the data and restricted access to another part.

      Share data upon request

      If a third party requests access to data not published in a data repository, a data transfer agreement must be signed by mandated representatives form both parties (someone who is authorised by the Executive Board to sign agreements for the organisation). The agreement should outline the terms and conditions under which data are made available. Contact the RDM helpdesk and Legal counsel (LRS and IXA) for advice.

      License your data

      When publishing research data in a data repository, you have to choose a license. The most common are Creative Common Licenses. You can use the online Chooser application to determine the best license for your data.