New UP data repository system

Internationally, research data are seen as research outputs in their own right and also as valuable assets that universities should manage in a responsible manner. To address this the University of Pretoria launched its Research Data Repository on 21 November 2019 at the University’s Future Africa campus.

The UP Research Data Repository runs on a Figshare software platform, which was chosen after a thorough investigation of international software repository platforms by the Departments of Information Technology Services and Library Services.

The UP Research Data Repository will be used to curate and disseminate all datasets that support research publications (sometimes referred to as final data) which are generated by UP researchers and postgraduate students. This will enable UP to comply with the majority of research funders’ and publishers’ policies as well as the UP policy on Research Data Management’s requirements, to make research data open access available, within ethical and legal parameters.

Each dataset on the UP Data Repository will have the necessary license indicating the requirements for further use by others, as well as a persistent identifier called a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) which can be used to reference a dataset. The Repository will ensure the safeguarding of datasets for future generations and will enable the international research community to search, find and re-use datasets generated by UP researchers and students, which will in turn contribute to UP researchers’ citation rates as well as the University’s standing in international ranking systems.

During the launch Mr Robert Moropa, Library Director gave an introduction and overview of the development of Research Data Management at UP, and was followed by Prof Stephanie Burton, Vice Principal Research and Potsgraduate Education, who gave a presentation on ‘Research Data Management and Research Integrity’. As part of her presentation, she also showcased the new Intranet website on Research Data Management (available through a portlet on the UP Intranet, as well as videos about Research Data Management and the functionality of the new UP Research Data Repository. The new UP Research Data Repository is available at  https://researchdata.up.ac.za/.

Prof Stephanie Burton, Vice-Principle: Research & Postgraduate Education 

Mr Robert Moropa, Former director: Department of Library Services