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UKDA-store Help Guide



Login

If this is the first time using UKDA-store, please login and register in order to begin contributing data. You will need to use your UK HE/FE institutional login credentials (institutional user name and password), after selecting your institution from the drop-down list.

If you do not have an institutional username / password, instructions on how to register for an account can be found on the ESDS web site. Select the option to apply for a UK Data Archive username and password. You can use those to log in to UKDA-store, selecing the UK Data Archive as institution.

Please contact help@esds.ac.uk if you have problems registering or logging in.

For all other enquiries about contributing data, please contact UKDA-store.



Registration

Registration is needed both to access the protected parts of UKDA-store when accessing archived data; and to add a research project, data, documentation, or publications when depositing data.

When you log in for the first time, you will be asked to register by providing:

You are also asked to accept the UKDA-store terms and conditions.

Your username will be visible to other registered users under 'Manage Users'.

If adding a research project, the email entered in MyProfile may be used as a point of contact to users if 'Feedback' has been enabled.



MyProfile

MyProfile contains your name and email address. The name entered here will be visible to other registered users under 'Manage Users'.

If you have added a project and enabled 'Feedback' the email entered in MyProfile may be used as a point of contact by data users.

Privacy Policy



Email Help

When researchers have enabled email notification for their project in UKDA-store


Manage Users

Principal Contributor
The award holder is responsible for adding a new project to UKDA-store and is the principal contributor. A principal contributor may add, edit or remove any data, documentation or publications on their research project and edit or request the deletion of the project itself.

A principal contributor may also give access permission to other registered UKDA-store users and add them (or remove them) as contributors and publishers to a project.

In the 'Manage Users' section, contributors can be assigned to a project by selecting the user from the UKDA-store user list, where registered users are listed in alphabetic order of username.

Publishers
Registered users who have been granted special rights can add, or remove, their own publications to, or from, a research project. Publishers can be granted access to link to a project from 'Manage Access'.

Contributors
Registered users can be granted access to a research project by the principal contributor in order to upload data, documentation or publications - thus becoming a contributor. The contributor must be registered and have a UKDA-store account. Contributors can be granted access to a project from 'Manage Users'. The principal contributor will be listed under contributors.



Manage Access

Research projects and their publications can be accessed by users after they have been approved for self-archiving and have been published on UKDA-store. Research projects approved for inclusion in the formal UK Data Archive collections will not be available through UKDA-store.



Add a new project

In order to create a new project in UKDA-store, please enter your ESRC award number. This will retrieve your award details from the ESRC Society Today database and prefill the metadata form for UKDA-store. It will also retrieve links to any research outputs you have submitted to the Society Today repository. If you do not know your ESRC award number, it can be found by searching on ESRC Society Today.


All new project records must be created by the Principal Contributor (ESRC award holder). If you encounter problems creating a new project, please contact the helpdesk.

After creating a new record, additional project details can be completed through the 'Edit Deposit Metadata' tab. Mandatory fields are indicated by *.

Once your metadata record is completed and saved and no yellow boxes remain, you can proceed to uploading data files, documentation and publications.



Edit deposit metadata Help

All fields denoted with a * must be completed on both parts of the form before it can be saved.

Edit Part 1

Award Title
The award title is a mandatory field which is pre-filled for ESRC-funded research projects. Additional titles or subtitles can be included by adding an 'Alternative Title'.

Alternative Title
Additional project titles can be added to complement the 'Award Title'.

Programme Name
Add the ESRC Programme name if applicable. If the project is not part of a Programme, tick the box that states this. This is a mandatory field.

Award Holder
The award holder can also be referred to as the principal contributor, data creator or principal investigator. This field is mandatory and will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded research projects.

Institution
This field should be used for the principal contributor's institution. This field will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded research projects.

Co-applicant
This field is used for the names of individuals who have contributed to the data collection e.g. co-applicants. This field will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded research. Further co-applicants can be added.

Discipline
This field is mandatory and will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded research projects. Multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary options need to be re-assigned using the drop down list.

Subject
Select a subject term that best describes your research project or data collection. A new subject term can be added either by entering a term into the subject field or choosing from the list of existing subject tags added by other users. Select one or multiple subjects from the list before clicking on the 'Add Selected' button.

Additional subject fields can be added.

Description
The description or abstract explains the general aims, purpose and background to the research project. This field will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded research projects. Additional descriptions can be added.

Description: Amount of Award
The amount awarded by the funding body for the research project. This field will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded research projects.

Description: Type of Award
The type of award. This field will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded research projects.

Funding Source
The funding source for this research project will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded projects. Additional funding sources can be added from the list provided. If the funding source is not included in the list, type in the details.

Start Date
The start date is the date the research project started and is pre-filled for ESRC-funded research projects. The date is shown in the format DD/MM/YYYY e.g. 11/02/1999.

End Date
The end date is the date the research project ended and will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded research projects. The end date is provided in the format DD/MM/YYYY e.g. 11/02/1999.

Edit Part 2

Type of Research
Select the type of research from the drop down list.

Creates new data
New data have been created which are not based on existing data.

Creates new data based on existing data (e.g. linked, integrated, or derived)
New data have been created based on an existing data source. If the data were derived in whole or in part from other published or unpublished, printed or electronic sources, give references to the original material in the field 'Data Sources Used' and confirm that all copyright permissions have been sought and granted in the section for 'Legal and Ethical Issues'.

No data created (just secondary analysis)
Only secondary analysis of an existing data source has been undertaken. No new data have been created under this project.

No data created (just documentation)
No new data have been created and no analysis has been undertaken of existing data sources. This project has only created documentary information.

ESDS Study Number Used
If applicable, enter the ESDS study number of any data sources held at the UK Data Archive that are related to the research project or that have been used in the research. For example, the project may be part of a series of surveys or a follow-up study. A link to the ESDS Data Catalogue allows a search for the study number if unknown.

Related Datasets
If applicable, list any existing datasets related to this research project - for example as part of a series or a follow-up study - that are not held at the UK Data Archive. For related datasets held at the UK Data Archive use the Related ESDS Study Number field.

Data Sources Used
List any data sources used within this research project if the data were derived in whole or in part from other published or unpublished, printed or electronic sources. The original materials could for example include enumerators' books, probate records, court materials, newspapers, parliamentary records. More than one data source can be entered.

Confirm that all copyright permissions have been sought and granted in the section on 'Legal and Ethical Issues'.

Data Type
Choose the type of data created in this project from the drop down list of quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, or no data. This field is mandatory.

File Format: see Data Format Help below.

Award Number
The grant/award number for the research project. The award field will be pre-filled for ESRC-funded research.

Display Outputs
Outputs from the award are hidden as default.

Language
The language(s) used for the data and documentation. More then one language can be entered.

Data Collection Method
Describe the data collection methodology used for the research, including e.g. sampling procedure, population, size of dataset, observation units (individuals, families, households), etc. This is a mandatory field. If no data has been collected enter 'Not Applicable' or 'N/A'.

Legal and Ethical Issues
Detail any access issues which may influence the re-use of the data or work(s) by other researchers.

Consent
Provide details of any informed consent or confidentiality agreements with participants and whether consent to archive data and share them with the wider research community was discussed and obtained from participants. Do the data contain any confidential or sensitive information other users should be aware of? If applicable, an example consent form can be uploaded as documentation.

Anonymisation
Gaining the respondent's consent, does not relieve you of your duty to protect the individual's privacy and confidentiality where promised. Remember to anonymise data and remove any personal or identifying information prior to uploading the data. Upload details or documents of any measures used to anonymise data prior to deposit.

Copyright
It is crucial to ensure that all copyright permissions and associated property rights have been cleared prior to deposition and that ownership of the work(s) has been established. This is particularly important if the research involves re-use of existing data and/or is gathered from a range of existing sources. Upload details or documents where copyright and intellectual property rights (IPR) clearance has been granted.

Embargo Period
If an embargo period is needed for the data or documentation, please contact the helpdesk.

Embargo Reason
Enter a valid explanation for the embargo period where appropriate. This is not possible when no embargo period is set.



Data Format Help

Select one or more formats from the list or use the free text box provided. This field must be completed.

Data files should be uploaded in relatively 'well-known' software formats where possible, so that secondary users working with different computing facilities will be able to access the data without difficulty. The table below gives full technical details of preferred and acceptable formats. Suitable examples for uploading data include: If you are unsure of the suitability of your file formats please contact the UK data Archive for advice before uploading.

Type of data
Preferred format for deposit
Acceptable formats for deposit

Quantitative tabular data with extensive metadata

(e.g. a survey dataset with variable labels, code labels, and defined missing values, in addition to the matrix of data)

  • SPSS portable (.por) format, or delimited text and command ('setup') file (SPSS, Stata, SAS, etc.) containing metadata information
  • other structured text/markup file containing metadata information e.g. DDI XML file
 

Addition to those formats named in the 'preferred' column:

  • proprietary formats of statistical packages (e.g. SPSS (.sav),= Stata (.dta) etc.) are acceptable, but offer less long-term security. It may not be possible to accept very old formats created with certain versions of software

Quantitative tabular data with minimal metadata

i.e. a matrix of data with or without column headings/ variable names, but no other metadata or labelling)

  • comma-delimited (.csv) or tab-delimited (.tab) files, including delimited text of given character set with SQL data definition statements where appropriate. (These are most widely used, and most widely recognised by import 'wizards'.)

Addition to those formats named in the 'preferred' column:

  • delimited text of given character set. Only characters not present in the data should be used as delimiters, or if unavoidable, data should be surrounded by inverted commas to distinguish between delimiters and characters in the data.
  • widely-used proprietary formats e.g. Excel (.xls), Access, or dBase, are acceptable but offer less long-term security

GIS and CAD data

e.g. vector and raster

  • Arcinfo export format (.e00) for vector data
  • MapInfo Interchange Format (MIF) for vector data
  • TIFF (version 6) for raster data
  • DXF or SVG for CAD data
  • GIS attribute data as per 'tabular data with minimal metadata'

Addition to those formats named in the 'preferred' column:

  • Adobe Illustrator, DXF or SVG for CAD data
  • binary formats of GIS and CAD packages may be acceptable
Qualitative data (textual)
  • Rich Text Format (RTF)
  • plain text data (ASCII)
  • eXtensible Markup Language (XML) marked-up text according to an appropriate Document Type Definition (DTD) or schema

Addition to those formats named in the 'preferred' column:

  • plain text
  • Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
  • widely-used proprietary formats e.g. Microsoft Word (.doc), are acceptable for interview transcripts, etc., but offer less long-term security
  • Proprietary/software-specific formats such as NUD*IST, NVivo and ATLAS.ti may be acceptable, but offer less long-term security
Digital audio data
  • MS Waveform
  • Audio Interchange File Format (.aiff)

Addition to those formats named in the 'preferred' column:

  • MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3)
Digital video data
  • MPEG-4
  • JPEG 2000

Contributors should contact UK Data Archive for advice before file upload.
Digital image data
  • TIFF (version 6)
  • JPEG (.jpeg, .jpg)

Addition to those formats named in the 'preferred' column:

  • TIFF (most formats, though CCITT Group 4 is generally considered to be the most straightforward)
  • Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) or PDF/A
  • software-specific formats (such as, for example, Photoshop .psd files) may be acceptable, but contributors should contact UK Data Archive for advice before file upload
Documentation
  • RTF
  • PDF
  • HTML

Addition to those formats named in the 'preferred' column:

  • plain text
  • widely-used proprietary formats e.g. Microsoft Word (.doc) or Excel (.xls), are acceptable but offer less long-term security
  • XML marked-up text according to an appropriate DTD or schema, e.g. XHMTL 1.0




Depositing Help

Registered users should upload at least one data or documentation file per project.

You must complete all required fields in your project metadata before any data or documentation files can be added.

Please ensure that all uploaded data files are well documented and described so that researchers interested in re-using your data can understand and interpret them. Data should be self-explanatory in terms of variable names, codes and abbreviations used. Additional documentation can be provided on how the data were collected, which methods were used to create them, the context of the research, etc. Documentation may include questionnaire forms, interview schedules, technical reports, lab books, methods fact sheets or user guides.

A 'Deposit' (data or documentation file) must be added before any publications can be uploaded.



Uploading Data and Documentation

Select whether to upload a file or point to a URL. Note that if pointing to a URL, then UKDA-store will only save the URL and will not store the actual file itself.

Files to upload could include data files, an end of award report, consent form, questionnaire, interview schedule, lab book, methods fact sheet or user guides.

Please ensure that all data files are well documented and described so that researchers interested in re-using your data can understand and interpret them. Data should be self-explanatory in terms of variable names and codes used.

Warning: some files may take longer to upload depending on their data format. The maximum file size allowed is 1 GB (Number of files should not be more than 500).

Several files can be uploaded at one time in a zip-format file. Once uploaded the separate files will be displayed and the file type for each file e.g. data, documentation can be chosen.
The following fields must be completed for each uploaded file: Make sure to upload documentary files alongside data files.


Adding Publications

Publishers and contributors can add, or remove, their publications to, or from, a research project to which they have been given access.



Uploading Publications

Select whether to upload a file or point to a URL. Note that if pointing to a URL, then UKDA-store will only save the URL and will not store the actual file itself.

Warning: some files may take longer to upload depending on their data format. The maximum file size allowed is 1 GB.

Several files can be uploaded at one time in a zip-format file. Once uploaded the separate files will be displayed and the classification type can be selected.
The following fields must be completed:


Review Status Help

"Review Status" allows you to submit your research project to the UK Data Archive for publication into UKDA-store. Once the project is ready to be published i.e. all files have been uploaded, check both boxes 'Confirm materials are ready for review' and 'Confirm materials are ready for publication' then click on 'Submit'. If successful, an email from the UK Data Archive Administrator will be sent confirming that project files have been submitted. The data and documentation will be checked before the project is released for publishing. If successful an email from the UK Data Archive Administrator will be sent confirming that the data has been published.

Closed Awards: in some circumstances an award may be closed to users, but it will remain in your approval queue unless deleted.

Note: New data, documentation or publications added to an approved and published research project will be put into the "Review Status".



Searching UKDA-store

Browsing

Projects can be found by browsing the list of project titles, disciplines and subjects. The subject list reflects the scope of the collection and includes self-tagged subject categories added by the principal contributor. The disciplines are a standardised list of categories compiled by the ESRC.

Free-text search

A free-text search can be conducted using the 'search' field. The search will be conducted across all award fields, such as title and description.

Advanced search

Searches can be restricted to specific fields describing the research project, such as description, data format and file type. Searches can also be restricted to data or documentation.

For literal searches use double quotes e.g. "social science". Up to five search items can be combined using AND, OR, AND NOT or BETWEEN.




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