Including the Duke Research Data Repository (RDR) in a grant application is increasingly common given the rise of data management and sharing policies from funding agencies, such as the 2023 NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. The RDR is committed to partnering with Duke researchers to meet the needs set forth by both funding and journal publishers regarding data sharing best practices and in alignment with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) Guiding Principles.
If you would like to indicate that the Duke Research Data Repository is your data sharing solution in a data management and sharing plan, we ask that you first ensure the following:
If you meet these criteria and our overall policies, you may include the following information in your grant application. We have general boilerplate that can be used across funders and customized boilerplate language for NIH plans.
There are no costs associated with depositing data within the RDR for Duke researchers; however, if you are required to provide a Letter of Support to demonstrate the institutional commitment to your grant, please contact us.
If your data are not in scope for the RDR due to sensitivities or size, we are happy to work with you to identify other repository options. We can also provide a review of any data management and sharing plan by request. Simply email datamanagement@duke.edu or use the DMPTool.org to get started on your plan.
The data will be deposited into the Duke Research Data Repository (RDR), an openly accessible preservation archive maintained by the Duke University Libraries. The RDR will assign appropriate metadata (Dublin Core) for discoverability and provide a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for persistent access and unique identification of the data. All data will be made openly accessible without restrictions on direct download and are findable with standard indexing tools including Google Datasets and DataCite Commons. Reuse conditions and expectations will be communicated to end users through the assignment of a standardized Creative Commons license or waiver. The data will be preserved in the RDR for a minimum of 25 years according to the RDR Retention Policy. When the data are transferred to the RDR, data curators will review deposits to help ensure they are complete and in a structure and format that supports long-term preservation and the FAIR Guiding Principles. The RDR has policies and procedures that comply with the NTSC Desirable Characteristics for Data Repositories. The RDR provides for automated backup of all data, which provides an added layer of protection and security for the data.
The data will be deposited into the Duke Research Data Repository (RDR), an open-access preservation archive maintained by Duke University Libraries. The RDR has policies and procedures that comply with the NIH Desirable Characteristics for Data Repositories. All data within the RDR are accessible to anyone with an internet connection worldwide. Collaborators at other institutions may also contribute data when working with Duke investigators. The data will be preserved in the RDR for the long-term according to RDR policies and procedures. When the data are transferred to the RDR, data curators will review deposits to help ensure they are complete and in a structure and format that supports long-term preservation, access, and reuse. The RDR provides for automated backup of all data, which provides an added layer of protection and security for the data.
The RDR will assign appropriate metadata (Dublin Core) for discoverability and provides a DataCite Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for persistent access and unique identification of the data. All data in the RDR are findable with standard indexing tools and included in Google Datasets and DataCite Commons.
Data will be shared either at the time of publication or at the end of the performance period, whichever comes first. All data deposited with the Duke Research Data Repository will be retained for a minimum of 25 years according to their stated Retention Policy. Data will be retained and remain publicly accessible even in the event of an investigator leaving Duke.
All data will be made openly accessible without restrictions on direct download and there will be no additional limitations placed on these data. Reuse conditions and expectations will be communicated to end users through the assignment of a standardized Creative Commons license or waiver within the repository metadata record.
Below we describe how the RDR adheres to the Desirable Characteristics for Data Repositories established by the National Technology Science Council. This information can be used to demonstrate how the RDR aligns with the NIH’s Desirable Characteristics for Data Repositories. See also [this document[(https://duke.box.com/s/yghun7fp2y2qe2t96swgee53loqspeii) that aligns our practices with the NIH Characteristics specifically.
"The repository provides broad, equitable, and maximally open access to datasets and their metadata free of charge in a timely manner after submission, consistent with legal and policy requirements related to maintaining privacy and confidentiality, Tribal and national data sovereignty, and protection of sensitive data."
All datasets published within the RDR are freely and openly available under a selected Creative Commons waiver or license with no charge for access. Human data must be deidentified and all consent documentation submitted to curation staff for review.
"The repository ensures datasets are accompanied by documentation describing terms of dataset access and use (e.g., reuse licenses and need for approval by a data use committee)."
All datasets published within the RDR are freely and openly available as described in a selected Creative Commons waiver or license with no charge for access. No approval process or controlled access is allowable.
"The repository has documented capabilities for ensuring that administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are employed to comply with applicable confidentiality, risk management, and continuous monitoring requirements for sensitive data."
RDR does not accept sensitive data; however, all datasets are reviewed during the curation process to avoid any inadvertent disclosure of confidential information. Data deposits require secure Duke authentication for upload and only approved RDR staff members have access to the system.
"The repository provides documentation on policies for data retention."
The RDR has a published Retention Policy with a stated minimum retention period of 25 years.
"The repository has a plan for long-term management of data, including maintaining integrity, authenticity, and availability of datasets; has contingency plans to ensure data are available and maintained during and after unforeseen events."
Duke University Libraries maintains a library-wide digital preservation policy and strategy.
"The repository assigns a dataset a citable, unique persistent identifier (PID or DPI), such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), to support data discovery, reporting (e.g., of research progress), and research assessment (e.g., identifying the outputs of Federally funded research). The unique PID points to a persistent location that remains accessible even if the dataset is de-accessioned or no longer available."
All datasets published through the RDR are assigned a DOI via DataCite. No datasets are removed unless approved according to the DUL Deaccessioning Policy, and any deaccessioned datasets will resolve to a tombstone page that provides information about the data that used to be accessible.
"The repository ensures datasets are accompanied by metadata to enable discovery, reuse, and citation of datasets, using schema that are appropriate to, and ideally widely used across, the communities that the repository serves."
All datasets contain depositor-supplied DataCite metadata, which is then reviewed and normalized against local and national controlled vocabularies by curation staff.
"The repository provides or facilitates expert curation and quality assurance to improve the accuracy and integrity of datasets and metadata."
All datasets are subject to curatorial review prior to publication. If subject matter expertise is needed to curate the data, Duke can request supplementary review from the Data Curation Network, which provides a network of curation expertise for various data types.
"The repository ensures datasets are accompanied by metadata that describe terms of reuse and provides the ability to measure attribution, citation, and reuse of data (e.g., through assignment of adequate and openly accessible metadata and unique PIDs)."
All datasets published through the RDR are given a dataset citation to facilitate proper attribution, page views and download counts are available for datasets, and discovery and reuse is facilitated by DOIs and inclusion in the DataCite global registry.
"The repository allows datasets and metadata to be accessed, downloaded, or exported from the repository in widely used, preferably non-proprietary, formats consistent with standards used in the disciplines the repository serves."
Depositors are encouraged to use, and where possible files are converted to, open, preservation-friendly formats.
"The repository has mechanisms in place to record the origin, chain of custody, version control, and any other modifications to submitted datasets and metadata."
Public provenance information is provided for modifications made to versioned datasets and private curation logs are maintained with each dataset.
"The repository supports authentication of data submitters. The repository has technical capabilities that facilitate associating submitter PIDs with those assigned to their deposited digital objects, such as datasets."
Data deposits require secure Duke authentication for upload and only approved RDR staff members have access to the system. ORCIDs are linked to dataset authors during the submission process when available.
"The repository has a plan for long-term management of data, building on a stable technical infrastructure and funding plans."
DUL maintains a library-wide digital preservation policy and strategy, and a dedicated team of technical staff and developers.
"The repository has documented measures in place to meet well established cybersecurity criteria for preventing unauthorized access to, modification of, or release of data, with levels of security that are appropriate to the sensitivity of data (e.g., the NIST Cybersecurity Framework: https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework)."
The RDR only houses data that can be fully open and accessible without restriction. This means that the data are not sensitive or restricted according to Duke’s classification standard. The RDR is housed on servers professionally managed by TIND in accordance with Duke security policies.
The Duke Research Data Repository is a completely open access repository and therefore does not provide the additional security features for human data that would be recommended by the Desirable Characteristics. Only human participants data that has proper consent for data sharing, is fully de-identified, AND presents no harm to participants if their identity were inadvertently discovered should be deposited in the RDR. Our approach to human data is outlined in our human data policy and submission guidelines.