UK launches data sharing service for researchers

The UK Data Archive (UKDA) has developed, UKDA-store, a new data sharing service for researchers. Due to be launched midyear, this new service will be used to submit data deposits into the UK Data Archive and is expected to be of particular interest to funders who require award holders to share data as part of their contract. UKDA-store is to be initially released to ESRC award holders with the intention of extending the system to other social science researchers, irrespective of funding.

UKDA-store will enable researchers to gather metadata about their research from a funding awards database, to which their digital outputs can be added all within the same system. Researchers will be able to upload a range of digital objects to a repository, with the right to set permissions for individual and group access.

The UKDA is funded by the ESRC, JISC and the University of Essex. It is a centre of expertise in data acquisition, preservation, dissemination and promotion; and is curator of the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the UK.