Purpose of this Policy

This document explains what DataverseNO can accept for publication.

Criteria for Depositing

DataverseNO is an archive for openly published research data, and only content that is publicly distributable may be archived and made available in DataverseNO. Datasets deposited into DataverseNO must either be generated through the course of a research project and/or deposited with an expectation that public availability will allow the Dataset to be used for research purposes. Research data is defined as all registrations, notes, and reporting which are produced or arise in the course of research, and which are regarded as being of scientific interest and/or scientific potential. The format of these may include, but is not limited to, numbers, text, source code, photographs, films, and sound.

During the processing stage of a research project, temporary files may have been created that are not crucial for the understanding of the main results. An important step in preparing your data for archiving is therefore to make a selection or appraisal of which files that are to be archived. As a main rule, you should provide enough data for others to understand and replicate or otherwise (re)use the data. Also, you should not exclude negative data. Although they might not be of interest for your project, they may be useful for other researchers. You should also consider including the raw version of your data in addition to the processed data. Given these recommendations however, it is still the responsibility of the Depositor to make any decisions on data selection, preferably based on discussions in the institutional, national and international research communities about what is appropriate and what is considered good practice within the discipline in question (cf. Kunnskapsdepartementet (Ministry of Education and Research), 2017, p. 22).

Only Datasets consisting of Data Files together with the associated Descriptive Metadata and any associated Metadata Files, are deposited into DataverseNO. Datasets deposited in DataverseNO must meet the following criteria (see also DataverseNO Deposit Agreement):

• As a main rule, at least one researcher currently or formerly associated with a Norwegian Research Institution must have made, conceived, reduced to practice, authored or otherwise made a substantive intellectual contribution to the creation of the Dataset(s) to be deposited. However, individual repositories in DataverseNO may accept contributions from other researchers.
• Datasets must be deposited for open, public access, which means that anyone may download and reuse all or part of a Dataset in accordance with the license indicated by the Depositor. Depositors may define an Embargo Period. The individual repositories may have their own terms for maximum Embargo Period.
• Datasets must only contain unrestricted content with no private, confidential, or other legally protected information.
• The Depositor must have or be able to furnish on demand the rights or permissions to share any part of a Dataset obtained from a third party. It is the responsibility of the Depositor to have the necessary rights or permissions to share any content not generated by the Depositor.
• The maximum total size of deposited Datasets for employees and students at DataverseNO partner institutions is regulated by the agreement with the individual institutions. Depositors currently or formerly associated with a Norwegian Research Institution not affiliated with any DataverseNO partner institutions are granted a limited storage space for free (see About DataverseNO). Depositing of additional data must be agreed upon with DataverseNO in advance.
• Data Files must be deposited with Descriptive Metadata to facilitate discovery of the Datasets. In order to facilitate interpretation and reuse of the Data Files, Depositors must deposit a ReadMe file along with Data Files, and Descriptive Metadata that meet minimum standards as outlined in the DataverseNO Deposit Guidelines. As a main rule, enough information must be provided for others to assess the research data’s scientific and scholarly quality and compliance with disciplinary or ethical norms.
• The preferred file formats for deposited data are non-proprietary open source or openly documented formats which are extensively adopted by the designated research community and supported by a wide range of software platforms. These formats are best suited to long-term preservation, and reuse and will receive full digital preservation and curation support. Where the original files are not in (a) preferred format(s), (a) preferred format(s) of the data must be provided in addition to the original file format(s). The DataverseNO Deposit Guidelines will assist you in choosing the right format.

A Long-Term Contact Person, similar to a “corresponding author”, who is knowledgeable about the Dataset and assumes responsibility for its validity must be identified in a Dataset’s Descriptive Metadata before publication of the Dataset.

Quality Control

DataverseNO does not attempt to judge the scholarly quality of deposited Datasets. The Research Data Service staff at the DataverseNO partner institutions trust the judgment and research expertise of those who created and deposited the Dataset. Thus, a determination of the research quality is at the discretion of, and also the responsibility of, the Long-Term Contact Person, as named in the Descriptive Metadata.

Research Data Service staff will review deposited Datasets for alignment with criteria for depositing and/or to extend the Descriptive Metadata as needed to facilitate greater accuracy and discoverability. For more information on the curatorial review process please see the DataverseNO Deposit Guidelines.

Datasets that are not compliant with the DataverseNO policies and guidelines are not published. If a curator identifies fundamental nonconformity with the DataverseNO policies and guidelines, and the depositor does not agree to make necessary changes, the curator addresses the problem by raising the issue within the curator community of DataverseNO to reach a conclusion. If the reached conclusion is not accepted by the depositor, the issue will be raised to the Board of DataverseNO, for a final decision.

Discovery and Access

Each Dataset published in DataverseNO is given a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) that is registered in a global registry of resources with DataCite (https://www.datacite.org/). Likewise, DataverseNO webpages and Descriptive Metadata records are intended to be optimized for search engine visibility. This enables discovery via web searches (e.g., BASE – Bielefeld Academic Search Engine) and other Descriptive Metadata aggregating services. For more information, see the DataverseNO Access and Use Policy.

For more information about the Embargo options, see the DataverseNO Deposit Guidelines.

Copyright, Intellectual Property, and Digital Rights

If copyright law is applicable to your dataset submission and you are the copyright owner, you still retain copyright to your work and do not give up the right to submit the Dataset to publishers or other repositories.

By depositing data in DataverseNO, you grant to DataverseNO (by owner) the non-exclusive right to reproduce, translate, and distribute the Dataset in any format or medium worldwide and royalty-free, including, but not limited to, publication over the Internet, unless otherwise provided for by an addendum to the DataverseNO Deposit Agreement.

DataverseNO’s Commitment to Published Datasets

DataverseNO commits to preserving published Datasets in accordance with the DataverseNO Preservation Policy. DataverseNO also currently commits to providing public access through maintenance of persistent DataverseNO webpages, Descriptive Metadata records, and identifiers, and to providing access metrics, which may include page-views, downloads, and citations. DataverseNO currently commits to this level of preservation, access, and reporting for a period of at least ten years from the date of publication via DataverseNO. The intention for DataverseNO is, however, to facilitate access to archived data in an enduring perspective, as described in the DataverseNO Preservation Policy.

Acknowledgements

Illinois Data Bank. Illinois Data Bank Policy Framework and Definitions. http://hdl.handle.net/2142/91039

DataverseNL General Terms of Use. https://dans.knaw.nl/en/about/services/archiving-and-reusing-data/DataverseNL/GeneralTermsofUseDataverseNL_DEF.pdf. DataverseNL is a shared service provided by participating institutions and DANS (Data Archiving and Networked Services), The Netherlands.

Harvard Dataverse General Terms of Use. http://best-practices.dataverse.org/harvard-policies/harvard-terms-of-use.html.

Kunnskapsdepartementet (Ministry of Education and Research) (2017). “Nasjonal strategi for tilgjengeliggjøring og deling av forskningsdata” (National policy for research data management in Norway). Available online: https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/nasjonal-strategi-for-tilgjengeliggjoring-og-deling-av-forskningsdata/id2582412/

Contact support@dataverse.no with questions or to request an addition or revision to this policy.

Policy Document History and Version Control Table
Version	Action	Approved By	Action Date
2.0	Policy revised.	Board of DataverseNO	2019-03-06
1.0	Policy issued.	Board of DataverseNO	2018-06-21