Integrating the archiving and access of large research datasets with an Institutional Repository

There is growing evidence of the direct benefits of making research data accessible as part of good research practice and data management, but unless the process is simple and practical on a day-to-day level for the researchers then these benefits are not realized. Organisations often desire that their Institutional Repository is a single point of deposit, for example to support their research data policy, to ensure research data comes under central management, and to provide a single point of public access. Unfortunately, commonly used systems, such as EPrints or DSpace, have a limited ability to handle large or complex research datasets, which presents a barrier to uptake by researchers. Rather than try to extend or adapt repositories directly to support research data, we argue that an alternative model is to seamlessly integrate separate research data storage and archiving. The presentation uses integration of EPrints with Arkivum’s data archiving service as an example. The focus is on the workflows supported, the user interaction aspects, and cases studies of how delivery as a hosted service meets the practical requirements of a range of UK institutions.