Guidelines for Data Submission

The Rice Rivers Center (RRC) Data Management Policy requires research data collected at RRC or with RRC support to be deposited in a public data repository within 2 years of collection. This requirement is motivated by the FAIR Data Principles for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable data. 

Researchers should choose one of the following options for data publication: 

1. Submit a copy of your data and accompanying RRC Metadata Form to the RRC Data Manager. The Data Manager will review your data and metadata, and then submit the dataset for publication to the Environmental Data Initiative (EDI) repository. EDI assigns a digital object identifier (DOI) to your published dataset, retains all versions of a dataset, and tracks data package use.
2. Publish your data to your choice of repository. You may choose to publish your dataset in a different public data repository. In this case, the researcher is responsible for data submission to the data repository and must submit an inventory file, containing the dataset DOI, title, file name, file format, file size, and repository URL, to the Data Manager.

Data Formats

Please consider using open file formats whenever possible, and avoid submitting data in proprietary formats. Below are additional guidelines for common data types:

Tabular Data

Comma-delimited text files are the preferred format for tabular data. Each file should contain descriptive and concise variable names. Variable names should not include spaces. Missing values should be indicated by NA. Any codes should be clearly explained in the accompanying metadata form. 

Spatial Data

Map projection and units should be provided in the metadata of GIS data. Resolution and bounding coordinates should be provided in the metadata of remote sensing data. 

Large Data Files

Contact the Data Manager to make special arrangements for transfer of larger data files.