Content coverage
Research data are the original sources or materials (born digital or converted to digital) that were created or gathered in the process of research. They serve as the foundation from which you draw conclusions and produce results/findings (test hypotheses, study trends, provide evidence, refute claims). They may be numeric or qualitative, structured or unstructured. Among many possible forms, data may take the form of notebooks, statistical or spatial data tables, audio or visual recordings, photographs, or models. Supplementary software code and documentation used to provide context for the data may also be included. Software code can optionally be made into its own record if it is substantive and deemed of value to a research community. The end-results/findings of your research such as monographs, articles, white papers, or presentations are not considered research data, but these may be placed in the University of Wyoming Institutional Repository (WyoScholar) and cross-linked with relevant research data using descriptive metadata.
- Data that contain sensitive, restricted, or confidential information (i.e., personally
identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), export-controlled
information, etc.)
- Dynamic data (continuously updated data) are outside the scope of the repository.
However, the repository will consider archiving snapshots and significant versions
of these types of data.
- Record-only deposits. All records created in the repository must have the data available
for download by the public. Harvesting of records for data that lives outside of the
repository is possible on a case-by-case basis.
- All data published by the UW Libraries will be stored within the Advanced Research
Computing Center infrastructure, and therefore the repository will not support data
on external infrastructure.
- Data that is not intended for long-term sharing. All published data will receive a
DOI. Records may be considered for deaccession upon request, but a tombstone page
describing removed data will remain public.
- UW Libraries reserves the right to reject submissions.
The repository will only accept datasets in a publication-ready state. This is not the place to store data that is currently being analyzed. For data storage during research, please contact the Advanced Research Computing Center (arcc-info@uwyo.edu).
Data producers should make every attempt to ensure that data deposited in the repository is in its publication-ready state. However, we also understand that errors may be discovered post-publication or additional data or documentation files may need to be added. In these cases, the Data Services Librarian can help you create a new version of your dataset. We will continue to provide access to the previous version of all files to ensure persistent access to previously published materials (if you need to permanently remove files, see deaccessioning below). Versioning should not be used as a method to add files to a collection from different waves of a study or as a method to preserve data during the active research phase of a project. If you foresee your dataset evolving over time then consider a "release cycle" for your data.
Most file formats are supported. Whenever possible, non-proprietary formats should be used to best support cross-systems data accessibility, reuse, and long-term preservation.
Technical support available from UW Libraries and the Advanced Research Computing
Center (ARCC) is limited. Versioning and file modification may be necessary to adhere
to platform technical requirements. UW Libraries retain the right to modify or upgrade
file formats to comply with platform upgrades or restrictions. Details regarding file
formats and technical restrictions can be obtained by emailing wyodata@uwyo.edu.
Metadata
Anyone may access the metadata associated with deposited datasets free of charge.
All objects in the repository will receive a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which will provide persistent access to the data. Draft DOIs are issued while records are under review. Once records have been reviewed and are published, DOIs will become active and persistent.
All deposits in the repository must include a completed ReadMe file, saved as a .txt or .md with UTF-8 encoding. All data receive curatorial review prior to publication, and data that are incomplete or not ready for reuse will not be accepted into the repository. Curatorial suggestions may be made to improve data description and to aid reuse. Researchers are highly encouraged to deposit additional files known as documentation that describe their datasets in more detail, such as a codebook, data dictionary, or technical reports. A template for a complete ReadMe is available here: ReadMe.
Submission of data
We accept research data from students, faculty, and staff affiliated with the University of Wyoming or a Wyoming community college.
The validity and authenticity of the content of submissions (all materials submitted by the depositor, including full data and metadata) is the sole responsibility of the depositor, and is not checked by the data repository. In submitting data to the repository, depositors attest it meets legal and ethical research standards.
Submitting work to the repository requires you to attest that the work contains no confidential or proprietary information. Confidential information includes data that can uniquely identify someone, such as a Social Security number, credit card number, or driver's license number. Proprietary information is information, such as patentable information, that is owned, or may be owned, by someone else. You must also attest that that the deposit and sharing of the research data complies with any applicable IRB protocol. Ownership of data produced at the University of Wyoming is governed by the University Research Data Policy and the UW Regulation 3-641 pertaining to patents and copyrights.
Data in the repository must be deposited for open access—this means that visitors to the repository may download and reuse your data. Data not suitable for reuse should not be deposited in the repository. However, authors will have the option of embargoing access for the maximum of twenty-four months on a file-by-file basis. During the embargo period, a descriptive metadata record for the embargoed file(s) will be publicly available in the repository dataset record, including a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and the date on which the files will be made available.
It is the responsibility of individuals who are uploading data to make sure that they have the necessary rights or permissions to share any materials they did not themselves generate.
By depositing this Content (“Content”) in the University of Wyoming data repository,
I agree that I am solely responsible for any consequences of uploading this Content
to the repository and making it publicly available, and I represent and warrant that:
- I am either the sole creator and the owner of the copyrights and all other rights
in the Content; or, without obtaining another’s permission, I have the right to deposit
the Content in an archive such as the data repository.
- To the extent that any portions of the Content are not my own creation, they are used
with the copyright holder’s express permission or as permitted by law. Additionally,
the Content does not infringe the copyrights or other intellectual property rights
of another, nor does the Content violate any laws or another’s rights of privacy or
publicity.
- The Content contains no restricted, private, confidential, or otherwise protected
data or information that should not be publicly shared.
- I understand that the Libraries will do its best to provide perpetual world-wide access
(via the internet) to my Content. In order to support these efforts, I grant the University
of Wyoming, through its repository, the following non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free,
world-wide rights and licenses:
- to access, reproduce, distribute and publicly display the Content, in whole or in part, in order to secure, preserve and make it publicly available, and
- to make derivative works based upon the Content in order to migrate the Content to other media or formats, or to preserve its public access.
- to add or modify publicly available Content metadata
- these terms do not transfer ownership of the copyright(s) in the Content. These terms only grant to the University the limited license outlined above.
Access and reuse of data
The purpose of the data repository is to provide stable, long-term public access to research data produced by members of the University of Wyoming community and Wyoming community colleges. By default, material deposited in the repository will be openly accessible worldwide over the internet.
Authors who share their data here expect that it will be re-used to some degree. Users are expected to abide by the University of Wyoming data policies such as those from the Office of Research and Economic Development, where applicable. However, by using or downloading the data, you signify your agreement to the conditions of use stated below:
- The user will not make any use of data to identify or otherwise infringe the privacy
or confidentiality rights of individuals discovered inadvertently or intentionally
in the data.
- The user will give appropriate attribution to the author(s) of the data in any publication,
application, report, or other derivative work that employs resources provided by the
repository.
- If your use or publication requires permission, you must contact the authors directly; administrators of the repository cannot respond to requests for permission.
Preservation of data
File preservation and migration
Over time, items stored on the platform will be preserved as is, using best practices for digital preservation. When it is deemed necessary due to new support requirements or changing technology, this repository will be migrated to the best-suited platform to archive and share our digital assets. Preservation steps may include format migration, normalization, and/or emulation. In addition, the proprietary nature of many file types makes it impossible to make guarantees of preservation. However, the University Libraries will do its best to provide long term open access to your content.
Withdrawal of data and succession plans
Withdrawal of data
All deposits are considered long-term. Content may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for removal in case of violation of deposit agreement or other exceptional circumstances. If you believe any of the data in the repository breaches your rights or intellectual property, please send details of your name, the dataset name and DOI containing the material, the reason for the complaint and evidence supporting it to the current Data Services Librarian. If deemed appropriate, access to the involved file(s) will be restricted while we investigate the complaint. If the complaint is upheld and the data withdrawn, we reserve the right to maintain a metadata record of the dataset.
Monitoring and reviewing the policy
Compliance with this policy is required. Compliance assistance may be obtained by contacting the current Data Services Librarian or emailing wyodata@uwyo.edu. This policy will be reviewed on a yearly basis and updated when substantive changes occur.
Privacy Policy
Personal information collected by the repository will not be used for any commercial or philanthropic purpose.
We do not disclose information about your individual visits to our site, or personal information that you provide us, such as your name, address, email address, telephone number, etc. to any outside parties except when we believe, in good faith (i) that the law requires it, or (ii) that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights and property of The repository users.
*This policy can be adopted, reused, and adapted by others without need for attribution*
