Module 7 Handbook
Types of data repositories
You will find that each type data repository fulfills a different need and set of requirements.
Research data repositories
There are two types of research data repository, both of which broadly allow anyone to contribute data:
1: Discipline-specific
Examples include:
2: Interdisciplinary
Examples include:
Many are backed by large communities of funders as well as academic journals.
Government data platforms
These provide a platform through which any government or country specific data can be accessed.
Governments often have clauses which require anyone working with specific types of data, be it as a government department or third party organisation, to make data available via the official government platform.
Examples include
Curated data repositories
- Provide sustainable access to carefully managed and curated datasets
- Offer data services (such as direct access to the data via an API rather than just file downloads)
- Sustainable through country memberships and donor contributions
- Provides most flexibility for specific data services
If considering curated data repositories, you should be aware that establishing and sustaining a curated data repository is challenging and many are not able to be sustained long term.
Examples include:
Code and data platforms
These are hybrid platforms somewhere between the research data repository and the curated data repository. They can offer you management features such as:
- version control
- ingest pipelines
- validation services
One of the most popular platforms for both code and data is GitHub.