Prepare Your Data

Before you begin your research, it is important to take steps to ensure that your data will be easy to find, preserve, and reuse. Consult the resources on this page to help you get started.

Formats & Size

There are currently no limits on storage space; however, a storage estimate is required to prepare and accommodate your needs.

Researchers are encouraged to use sustainable file formats. Please see File Format Selection Guidelines for recommendations of sustainable file formats. Other formats are accepted at lower tiers of support. Tier descriptions can be found here. Have questions about file formats?

While there are currently no limits on storage space, there is an upload limit of 2GB per file. We can accept larger files on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you have larger upload needs.

For more details, see the "Formats & Tiers" section.

Metadata

Metadata encompasses the descriptive information about your research. This added information makes your research discoverable and able to be indexed. It also helps readers understand and interpret your data. The more information you can provide, the greater likelihood your data will be discovered.

Metadata Guidelines

 

Field Title

Required?

Prefilled?

Completed by Researcher?

1

Identifier

Yes

No

No

2

Title

Yes

No

Yes

3

Description

Yes

No

Yes

4

Creator

Yes

No

Yes

5

Department

Yes

No

Yes

6

Legacy department

No

No

No

7

Date

Yes

No

Yes

8

Coverage

Yes

No

Yes

9

Subjects

Yes

No

Yes

10

Geographic location

No

No

Yes

11

Language

No

Yes

Yes

12

Type

Yes

Yes

Yes

13

File format

Yes

No

Yes

14

Contributors

No

No

Yes

15

Permissions

Yes

No

Yes

16

Disciplines

No

No

Yes

17

Related documents

No

No

Yes

18

Citation

Yes

Yes

No


 

Field Descriptions

Identifier

Unique code assigned by the system to identify your work

Title

Short descriptive name of your work

Description

A longer account or abstract of your work

Creator

Your name and the names of any additional authors

Department

Your department and the departments of any additional authors

Legacy department

System generated field used when departments change names

Date

Date of publication

Coverage

Date range your data was collected

Subjects

Short keywords people might use to find your data

Geographic location

Location your data was collected, if applicable

Language

Language your work is in, if applicable

Type

Generic category of research (e.g., publication, data, image)

File format

Three to four letter file extension (e.g., .pdf, .xml, .csv)

Contributors

Any financial contributors to your work such as your granting agency

Permissions

Copyright status and any intellectual property restrictions of your work

Disciplines

Your research fields or subject areas affiliated with your research

Related documents

List of any associated file(s) with this file

Citation

System-generated, formal reference of your work

 

Example Record

Identifier

mus_0000000001

Title

Unicorn Sightings in Nowheresville, Mississippi

Description

Text analysis of letters claiming unicorn sighting in Nowheresville, Mississippi between 2014 and 2017.

Creator

Bobby McBobface

Department

English

Legacy department

Underwater Basket Weaving

Date

2017

Coverage

2014-2017

Subjects

Unicorns, Fake Research, Example Record

Geographic location

Nowheresville, Mississippi

Language

English

Type

Publication

File format

Pdf

Contributors

Unicorn Skeptics and Believers United Foundation

Permissions

In Copyright

Disciplines

English

Related documents

Map.pdf

Citation

McBobface, B. (2017) Unicorn Sightings in Nowhereville, Mississippi. Available at: https://lib.usm.edu/fakemetadataexample

Rights

In general, data is not subject to copyright protection, thus a NO COPYRIGHT – UNITED STATES statement should be used for data files. Publications typically are considered IN COPYRIGHT.

Researchers can pick between two standardized rights statements:

Have questions about copyright?