Publishing research data – WUR Library supported repositories

Publishing data in a data repository promotes data reuse, verifiability, and increases research impact.

The WUR data librarians can help you publish the data and documentation in the certified repositories DANS Data Stations, 4TU.ResearchData and Zenodo.

How to publish data?

The data librarians need the following information send to data@wur.nl:

  • The data
    All data files (raw data, processed data, code etc.) used in data collection, processing, and analysis. Files that are irrelevant for verification and/or reproduction can be excluded. To ensure that data can still be read and used over a long period of time, the data needs to be available in a sustainable open format (see File formats).
  • A readme file
    The readme file is a document that accompanies the data and provides an explanation of the data, making the data understandable and reusable.
  • A codebook
    A codebook is a document which explains variables, abbreviations, etc. Preferably this codebook is in a sustainable format (e.g. csv) for easy importation into software such as R, Python, etc.
  • The metadata
    Metadata is added to the data while depositing data in a data repository. However, when a data librarian is assisting you with depositing data, please provide the metadata. You can use the Yoda metadata editor to create metadata and download the metadata as a json file.

You can find templates for the readme file and codebook here DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7701727. Via this link a filled in example of a readme file, codebook and metadata can be found as well.

If you publish data in another data repository than the DANS Data Stations, 4TU.ResearchData or Zenodo, we can advise you on data file preparation, but the final deposition of the data will be done by you. When data is published in a data repository, a unique, persistent identifier (e.g. Digital Object Identifier (DOI), accession number, etc.) is assigned to it.

Costs of data publishing

There is no cost if you publish data through us at the DANS Data Stations, 4TU.ResearchData or Zenodo. WUR Library has agreements with the DANS Data Stations and 4TU.ResearchData. As such, researchers can freely publish 100 GB per year in these repositories. Zenodo accepts a maximum of 50 GB data per submission. In the exceptional case that there is a cost we will consult with you beforehand. The costs of storage in other data repositories will be for the research group's own account. Additionally, data@wur.nl can give you advice on preparing your files for data publishing free of charge.