Data Sharing and Long-Term 
Preservation
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International Lizenz.
Astrid Recker
CESSDA Training at the Data Archive for the Social Sciences
GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences
@CESSDA_Data
The Data Spectrum
Image: Adapted from http://theodi.org/data-spectrum (Open Data Institute, cc-by)
Degrees of Openness and Persistence
Private Research Domain
• What is shared? Everything
• Access for: Core research team
• Time frame: Project duration
• Measures: Active data 
management, back-up and data 
security routines
Icons by RRZE Erlangen (CC-by-sa) https://github.com/RRZE-PP/rrze-icon-set
Degrees of Openness and Persistence
Private Research Domain Shared Research Domain
• What is shared? Everything
• Access for: Core research team
• Time frame: Project duration
• Measures: Active data 
management, back-up and data 
security routines
• What is shared? Final /stable 
versions of data and documentation
• Access for: Selected researchers 
outside core team during and after 
project (e.g.  for replication)
• Time frame: short to medium-term
• Measures: Back-up and data 
security, access routines
Metadata
Icons by RRZE Erlangen (CC-by-sa) https://github.com/RRZE-PP/rrze-icon-set
Degrees of Openness and Persistence
Private Research Domain Shared Research Domain Publication Domain
Persistent Domain
• What is shared? Everything
• Access for: Core research team
• Time frame: Project duration
• Measures: Active data 
management, back-up and data 
security routines
• What is shared? Final /stable 
versions of data and documentation
• Access for: Selected researchers 
outside core team during and after 
project (e.g.  for replication)
• Time frame: short to medium-term
• Measures: Back-up and data 
security, access routines
• What is shared? Final versions
• Access for: research community, 
public
• Time frame: medium- to long-term
• Measures: Preservation and 
curation (“data archiving”)
Icons by RRZE Erlangen (CC-by-sa) https://github.com/RRZE-PP/rrze-icon-set
Metadata Metadata
Archives in the
Research Process
Research
Study 
planning
Data 
collectionData analysis
Archiving & 
registering
We Keep Data Safe!
Image: www.digitalbevaring.dk (CC-by)
We Keep Data Safe!
• Back-up and secure storage
• Long-term preservation
• Legal and ethical security
– for data producers
(IPR, licensing terms)
– for participants in research
(data protection)
Image: www.digitalbevaring.dk (cc-by)
We Make Data Accessible!
Image: www.digitalbevaring.dk (CC-by)
We Make Data Accessible!
Image: www.digitalbevaring.dk (CC-by)
• Accessible formats
• Increased visibility in the world wide web (e.g. through
machine-readable metadata)
• Persistent identification
• High-quality 
documentation
We Offer Support!
Image: www.digitalbevaring.dk (CC-by)
We Offer Support!
Image: www.digitalbevaring.dk (CC-by)
• We advise on
– documentation
– metadata
– anonymization and
data protection
1. Identify a Suitable Archive 
or Repository 
Possible selection criteria:
• data type and format
• discipline
• region or funder
• service and reputation
Search tool:
2. Contact the
Archive as
Early as
Possible
Find out 
• if the archive is
interested in taking
your data
• which criteria for
submission apply
3. Discuss When, How, and in Which Format the
Data will be Submitted
Clarify access
conditions, legal 
and ethical issues.
4. Sign the Deposit Agreement
Contractual agreement clarifying rights and obligations of
archive and data depositor as well as access conditions. 
5. Submit the Data
in the Agreed Format at the Agreed Time
Possible submission channels include
• upload,
• e-mail,
• secure file sharing service
(e.g. Cryptshare). 
Conclusion: Sharing and Preservation
• Start thinking about this early
• Contact potential archives at the beginning of your 
research
• Pay specific attention to: informed consent and legal 
restrictions
Wrap-up
In conclusion…
… provided an introduction on RDM
– focused on the most important topics
– gave an overview of relevant aspects
… hands-on DMP
– didn’t touched some of the sections
– sometimes more a “to-do list” 
than a documentation of your RDM
⇒ remember, as research is a dynamic process, 
the DMP needs to be frequently up-dated
Image: CC-0
Perform an Adequate RDM
basic quality assurance replicability reusability
back-up strategy 
within the project
back-up strategy for storing 
data after the project (for 10 
years)
plan submission to an archive 
for long-term preservation
data collection and versioning 
guidelines
standardization, e.g. by 
employing licensed scales
minimal documentation, e.g. 
sampling, variable and code 
labels
metadata to describe the 
entire research process
detailed documentation for 
reuse
legal / ethical issues: informed 
consent for use of data within 
the project
legal / ethical issues: data 
storage or making it accessible 
to others
legal / ethical issues: archiving 
and reuse (covered by 
informed consent?)
file formats that fulfill the 
needs of the primary research 
group
file formats for keeping data &  
documentation accessible for 
at least 10 years
file formats that facilitate data
reuse in the future