DTU Data in the details

What can be published in DTU Data

DTU Data is a tool for making research data publicly available and Findable, Accessible, and Reusable (FAIR). The primary purpose is the publication of:

• Data and material that support a publication and have value and interest, such as figures, media files, and code
• Data collections (databases) stored in DTU Data or elsewhere
• Metadata records – descriptions of data for files that cannot be made publicly available

What cannot be published in DTU Data

• Data containing personal, sensitive, or confidential information must not be uploaded to DTU Data.
• Peer‑reviewed articles, conference papers, theses, and post‑prints must not be uploaded to DTU Data. These documents should instead be submitted to the DTU Library for upload to DTU’s research database:
  https://orbit.dtu.dk/

Read more about DTU Orbit:
https://www.bibliotek.dtu.dk/en/publishing/research-publishing

Publication is permanent

When an item is published in DTU Data, it is assigned a persistent identifier – a DOI (Digital Object Identifier).

The DOI provides a unique and permanent link to the item’s landing page in DTU Data, which means that published data cannot be deleted.

However, the system supports versioning, allowing changes to be made. Certain changes will generate a new version with a version‑specific DOI. All previous versions remain accessible.

See an example of versioning in DTU Data here.

In DTU Data, datasets are organised as items. An item is the unit that is published and assigned a DOI, and it contains your files and the associated metadata.

Create an item

You can create an item either by clicking directly on “Upload” or by clicking “My content” > “Items” > “Create new”.

• Click Create a new item
• Select a relevant item type (e.g. dataset, software, or model)
• Upload one or more files – or add a link to external data
• Fill in metadata (title, description, authors, keywords, etc.)
• Tips for each metadata field are provided in a pop-up when clicking the small “i” in the top-right corner of a field (see Figure x)
• Choose a licence

All items are created as drafts and can be freely edited until they are published.

Manage an item

From “My content”, you can:

• Access your items, projects, or collections
• Edit metadata and files
• Move items to or from projects
• Share drafts via a private link (e.g. with collaborators or for review)
• Delete drafts (unpublished items)

Publishing data

When your item is ready for publication:

• Click “Submit for review”
• The item is sent to a curator who reviews the metadata, provides feedback, and approves or rejects the item. Once approved, the item is published and the DOI is activated.

Note: Rejection of an item is simply part of the internal review process and has no implication for peer review processes or the possibility of publication. See the feedback and get back to us at datamanagement@dtu.dk.

Please note:

• Published items cannot be deleted
• Items can be updated – this results in versioning to ensure transparency of the data
• All previous versions are preserved and remain accessible. It is possible to cite specific versions using the version-specific DOI. The base DOI will always resolve to the latest version of the item.

Special options

An item can also:

• Contain metadata only (without files)
• Contain links to data outside DTU Data
• Have access restrictions applied (e.g. embargo)

DTU Data has two ways of organizing data: Projects and Collections.

Projects

Projects are primarily used for collaboration and for preparing data prior to publication.

• multiple users can be added with different roles (collaborator, viewer)
• members can view, add, and comment on items in the project
• items can be private or published
• projects can be published, but no DOI is assigned to the project itself

There are two types:

Individual projects

• use the personal quota
• items are removed if the owner leaves the project

Group projects

• use a shared quota
• items remain in the project
• metadata follows the project owner

External users can be invited via Figshare:
https://figshare.com

Collections

Collections are used to gather and present items after publication.

• can contain both your own and others’ published items
• do not change the content of individual items
• can be published as soon as at least one item has been added and are assigned a DOI for the collection as a whole (all items still have their own individual DOI)
• suitable for bringing results together in one place so they can be cited collectively

Comparison

Important

DTU Data is intended for the publication of research data and functions as a public catalogue of research data generated at DTU or by DTU researchers.
For sharing and collaboration on data in ongoing projects, please use other platforms managed by AIT.