Making Research Data Repositories Visible: The re3data.org Registry

Heinz Pampel,Hans-Jürgen Goebelbecker,Maxi Kindling,Jens Klump,Paul Vierkant,Jens Gundlach,Peter Schirmbacher,Frank Scholze,Uwe Dierolf,Roland Bertelmann

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078080

Abstract

Researchers require infrastructures that ensure a maximum of accessibility, stability and reliability to facilitate working with and sharing of research data. Such infrastructures are being increasingly summarized under the term Research Data Repositories (RDR). The project re3data.org–Registry of Research Data Repositories–has begun to index research data repositories in 2012 and offers researchers, funding organizations, libraries and publishers an overview of the heterogeneous research data repository landscape. In July 2013 re3data.org lists 400 research data repositories and counting. 288 of these are described in detail using the re3data.org vocabulary. Information icons help researchers to easily identify an adequate repository for the storage and reuse of their data. This article describes the heterogeneous RDR landscape and presents a typology of institutional, disciplinary, multidisciplinary and project-specific RDR. Further the article outlines the features of re3data.org, and shows how this registry helps to identify appropriate repositories for storage and search of research data.

Highlights

In the debate on the access to and reuse of research data we currently witness a dynamic development
The European Commission demands from member states that they pass policies to ensure that ‘‘research data that result from publicly funded research become publicly accessible, usable and re-usable through digital e-infrastructures’’ [4]
It is important to examine the concept of research data as research data repositories need to serve different academic and disciplinary communities with their respective concepts of research data

Summary

Introduction

In the debate on the access to and reuse of research data we currently witness a dynamic development. The project re3data.org – Registry of Research Data Repositories change this adverse situation. The project has begun to index research data repositories in 2012 and offers researchers, funding organizations, libraries and publishers a systematic overview of the heterogeneous RDR landscape.

Results

Conclusion