NIH expects that data sharing will be the norm, but acknowledge that there may be situations where there will be limitations on data sharing. You will need to provide a justification. Possible justifications include:
Data is expected to be shared no later than publication or end of award period. However, NIH does not note how long data should be preserved and available. For how long to share data, consider relevant requirements and expectations, e.g., repository policies, journal policies, etc.
Data Services at the University at Albany are a coordinated effort between the University Libraries, Information Technology Services (ITS), and the Data Management and Analytics Center (DMAC), in collaboration with the Division for Research, Office of General Counsel, and others.
The UAlbany Data Services webpage provides information on how to collect, document, store, analyze, share, and preserve your data.
It also includes workshops, guides, and checklists.
I have sensitive data. How can I share it legally and ethically?
NIH encourages researchers to address data management and sharing in the informed consent process with participants.
See additional guidance from NIH about protecting the privacy of human subject data and on the informed consent process.
Researchers should note in their DMSP how privacy, rights, and confidentiality of human research participants will be protected (i.e., through de-identification, Certificates of Confidentiality, etc.) Existing laws and regulations, such as HIPAA, still apply.
NIH encourages data be findable via a persistent unique identifier and asks researchers to note in their DMSP how the data will be findable. Many repositories will provide a persistent unique identifier for a dataset.
NIH encourages researchers to share data using established repositories as opposed to making the data available on request.
Some programs or policies may designate a repository that researchers must use. However, in general, researchers may choose one themselves.
In addition to NIH's data sharing website, they have created a list of criteria to use when evaluating and selecting repositories.
Discipline-Specific Repositories
NIH has provided lists of discipline-specific repositories to consider.
Generalist Repositories
Some generalist repositories include:
University Libraries Institutional Repository
Scholars Archive: the University Libraries institutional repository can preserve and share your publications and data. There is a practical upload limit of about 15-20 GB for an individual primary or supplemental file but no storage limit for individuals. For questions or assistance, contact scholcomm@albany.libanswers.com
