Why Archive your data?

• Preserves your research for the long term.
• Enables you to share data with other interested researchers.
• Enables you to use data shared by other researchers.
• Provides wider visibility for your research.
• Many funding agencies and scholarly journals now request that data be placed in a public archive and made available to others.
• Supports quantitative research from a secondary analysis perspective.

Here are some points to consider for managing your data for the long term. Usually this means depositing your datasets and documentation with a recommended archive:

• Does my funding agency require that my research data be managed for the long term? Are you also required to share this data with others? Does the nature of the data permit sharing in such a way that the privacy and confidentiality of human respondents is preserved? An archive can advise you and can assist in ensuring that your data are managed according to best practices and standards.

• How long does my data need to be available for others to use? Will changes in operating systems of software or computing equipment affect the ability to re-use my data? The longer your data need to be usable, the more you should consider an archive that will ensure that this is possible.

• Do I want to manage my data on my own or would I prefer to use the services of a recognized archival organization? In the social sciences, a recognized archive will typically operate using techniques and tools approved through the Data Seal of Approval, or through Trusted Repository Audit Certification

If you decide that the best way for your data to be managed is to work with a data archive, There are a number of options for selecting an archive for your research data:

Archive data with the Social Science Data Archive [update link]

Archive data with ICPSR[update link]

Archive data with Dataverse[update link]

Archive with the UCLA Library [update link]

Archive with the California Digital Library [update link]