UCSF Guides: Reproducible Data Management: Select a Research Data Repository

How to select a research data repository

To select a data repository for your research you should consider:

Is there a specific repository named in your funding announcement? If so, use that one
Is there a data repository specific to your discipline? If so, use that one
- See the list of repositories by discipline below
Is there a generalist data repository you can use?
- For UCSF researchers, consider Dryad data repository - more info below

Note that if you are working with de-identified human subjects data UCSF recommends that you you select a controlled access repository (see examples below)

Remember that you can always reach out to Data Services Librarian Ariel Deardorff for help locating a repository that is right for your data.

Institutional Approvals for Human Subjects Data Sharing

UCSF requires institutional approvals to share your de-identified human subjects data (note that this step is not required for non-human data).

If you are sharing in a controlled access repository (recommended) work with UCSF Industry Contracts to evaluate and sign the repository's data sharing agreement.
If you wish to share your data in an open repository or a controlled access repository not listed on the above list, email datasharing@ucsf.edu with a short description of your data and the name of your chosen repository and the EIA Steering Committee will review and approve.

Disciplinary Repositories

NIH Data Repositories
A list of all NIH-supported data repositories with guides to depositing data.
PLOS Recommended Repositories
Lists the top research data repositories by discipline including biochemistry, biomedical sciences, neuroscience and social science. All of these repositories have been approved by PLOS to meet data sharing requirements
Scientific Data's Guide to Recommended Repositories
Repositories included on this page have been evaluated to ensure that they meet the journals requirements for data access, preservation and stability.

Dryad - UCSF's Open Data Repository

If there isn't a repository for your community or data type another option is to deposit your data into a generalist repository. UCSF is a member of the Dryad data repository, which is an excellent choice for data that can be made publicly available without restrictions. As a member institution, UCSF researchers can deposit their data in Dryad for free.

Dryad
Dryad is an open-source, research data curation and publication platform. UCSF is a proud partner of Dryad and offers Dryad as a free service for all our researchers to publish and archive their data. Datasets published in Dryad receive a citation and can be versioned at any time. Dryad is integrated with hundreds of journals and is an easy way to both publish data and comply with funder and publisher mandates.

Language for grants: Dryad is an NIH-compliant repository that ensures long-term preservation and access with Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), versioning, creative commons licenses, ORCID and Fundref identifiers, and search engine discoverability.

Controlled Access Biomedical Data Repositories

The following research data repositories allow users to control access to their data and are recommended for de-identified human subjects research. Note that most of these repositories will require a signed data use agreement. UCSF researchers should work with UCSF Industry Contracts to evaluate and sign these agreements. Repositories that charge a fee are indicated with a $ in the title.

Vivli - free for UCSF researchers
An independent general access data repository and search engine through which individual participant-level data and metadata from clinical trials conducted by researchers in academic, industry, foundation, and non-profit entities can be identified, hosted, shared and analyzed. As an institutional member of Vivli UCSF researchers can deposit data for free, get free or discounted data de-identification services, and use the existing institutional Data Contribution Agreement.
NIMH Data Archive
The National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA) makes available human subjects data collected from hundreds of research projects across many scientific domains. De-identified human subjects data, harmonized to a common standard, are available to qualified researchers. Summary data are available to all. NDA houses data from several repositories including:
- NIMH Data Archive (NDA)
- Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) Data Repository
- Connectome Coordination Facility (CCF)
- The Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Data Archive (NIAAADA)
- National Institute on Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS) Triplet Repeat Disease
National Addiction and HIV Data Archive Program
The mission of the National Addiction & HIV Data Archive Program is to facilitate research on drug addiction and HIV infection by acquiring, enhancing, preserving, and sharing data produced by research grants, particularly those funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Allows restricted-use data archiving.
NCI Genomic Data Commons
The NCI's Genomic Data Commons (GDC) provides the cancer research community with a unified data repository that enables data sharing across cancer genomic studies in support of precision medicine.
NHLBI BioLINCC
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Biologic Specimen and Data Repository is the coming together of two entities: the NHLBI Biologic Specimen Repository (NHLBI Biorepository), managed by the NHLBI, Division of Blood Diseases and Resources (DBDR), Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Therapeutics Branch, and the NHLBI Data Repository, managed by the NHLBI, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences (DCVS), Epidemiology Branch. These two programs have always had a similar mission, namely to enhance and facilitate further research in cardiovascular, pulmonary and hematologic conditions by providing access to qualified investigators to stored biospecimen and data collections
dbGaP
The database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP) was developed to archive and distribute the data and results from studies that have investigated the interaction of genotype and phenotype in Humans.
The Cancer Imaging Archive
TCIA is a service which de-identifies and hosts a large archive of medical images of cancer accessible for public download. The data are organized as “collections”; typically patients’ imaging related by a common disease (e.g. lung cancer), image modality or type (MRI, CT, digital histopathology, etc) or research focus.
PhysioNet
An archive of well-characterized digital recordings of physiologic signals, time series, and related data for use by the biomedical research community. PhysioNet includes collections of cardiopulmonary, neural, and other biomedical signals from healthy subjects and patients with a variety of conditions with major public health implications, including sudden cardiac death, congestive heart failure, epilepsy, gait disorders, sleep apnea, and aging. Note that there are three different levels of data restriction.
AD Knowledge Portal
The AD Knowledge Portal is a platform for accessing data, analyses, and tools that the National Institute on Aging’s (NIA) Alzheimer's Disease Translational Research Program generates through several initiatives.
National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging
The National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), located within ICPSR, is funded by the National Institute on Aging and houses data relevant to gerontological research.

Controlled Access Social Science Data Repositories

Qualitative Data Repository - free for UCSF
The Qualitative Data Repository (QDR) is a dedicated archive for storing and sharing digital data (and accompanying documentation) generated or collected through qualitative and multi-method research in the social sciences. Submitted datasets undergo rigorous curation and can be made available via various levels of access restrictions. Read more about UCSF institutional membership
openICPSR
A service of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), openICPSR is a self-publishing repository for social, behavioral, and health sciences research data. Researchers with sensitive datasets can use openICPSR's restricted-use data options to securely share their research with qualified investigators.
Data Sharing for Demographic Research
DSDR is a project supported by the Population Dynamics Branch (PDB) of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and includes demographic data for population studies.