Publishing data

EIDF, operated by EPCC, is committed to making data accessible for research in the public good. Through the EIDF data publishing service, open datasets can be hosted and made available via the EIDF Data Catalogue, a searchable platform based on CKAN. This helps researchers present their datasets clearly, improve discoverability, and make them available for wider use. To start the process, users apply for a project through the EIDF Portal. Once approved, the dataset can be prepared for publication and listed in the catalogue with associated metadata. Open datasets are made available publicly through EIDF storage and catalogue services.

EIDF’s data publishing service provides:

• free publication of open datasets
• inclusion in the EIDF Data Catalogue
• support for dataset visibility and discoverability
• metadata-driven presentation of datasets
• versioning support for published data
• public access to open datasets hosted through EIDF
• for University of Edinburgh users, the opportunity to obtain a DOI

If you are outside the University of Edinburgh and would like to publish an open dataset with a DOI, please get in touch. We may still be able to support publication through the EIDF catalogue, provided the dataset is open and has good-quality metadata associated with it.

To make best use of the service, datasets should be:

• open and freely available for reuse
• well described with clear metadata
• appropriately documented
• suitable for public sharing through the catalogue

The service is intended for data publishing, rather than long-term archival preservation, so users should ensure they retain backup copies of their data outside EIDF.