Getting Started as a DataSpace Contributor
All faculty, staff, students, and affiliates of Princeton University are welcome to submit their digital research products to DataSpace. This includes digital research data and programming code from all academic domains at Princeton--engineering and applied sciences, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. The curators of DataSpace review submissions with an eye toward discoverability, re-usability, and long-term preservation--without partiality to the subject matter or findings of the research.
New contributors are encouraged to contact the DataSpace curators during any step of the process for personalized guidance.
New Users
In order to submit to DataSpace, you will need an active [netid]@princeton.edu account, and you will need to be enabled to add to the community/collection that is relevant to you. You can start by logging in for the first time from the DataSpace home page:
When prompted, we recommend all users select the first method of authentication, "Log in with your University ID":
Authenticating in this way will automatically create a DataSpace account for you, but you will not be able to start your first submission until you are assigned to a community/collection. Unfortunately, there is no way at present to self-select communities or collections directly in DataSpace, so please fill out the DataSpace Setup Questionnaire and the curators will make sure everything is in place to get you on your way to your first submission. You can also email the DataSpace curators at any time to ask questions or get assistance.
Submission Process Overview
- Prepare your files
- All files should be free of any information that is unsuitable for public release (e.g., sensitive personal information or intellectual property you do not own)
- If at all possible, data files should be in open and widely accessible formats (e.g., CSV)
- Provide adequate documentation for others who may re-use your data or code (e.g., a README.txt file explaining variable codes and relations among files; see more guidance here)
- If you have a lot of files or a nested folder structure, please compress the top-level folder(s) into a zip archive to make your submission compatible with flat-file storage systems
- For datasets larger than 2 GB, it's best to contact the DataSpace curators in advance (see our considerations for large datasets)
- Verify your agreement with the DataSpace policies and guidelines
- Contributors must have the right to distribute whatever they submit, and they must grant Princeton University re-distribution rights
- See the full DataSpace Policies and Guidelines document (PDF)
- Log in from the DataSpace home page
- As described above, new users will need to contact the DataSpace curators to get enabled
- Returning users will also need to contact the DataSpace curators if they want to submit to a new community/collection
- Create a new item and upload files
- From within the DataSpace web portal, start a new submission
- Fill out all relevant metadata (e.g., title, contributors, keywords, abstract). For more details on metadata fields, see the DataSpace Help page.
- Upload your data/code files, as well as a README file to reiterate and supplement the metadata (see more guidance on READMEs here)
- For large submissions, the DataSpace curators can work with you to bypass HTTPS upload (see our considerations for large datasets)
- Submit for curatorial review
- Even if you have been in touch with the DataSpace curators directly, please complete your submission through the web portal
- The curators review every submission with an eye toward discoverability, re-usability, and long-term preservation (see the FAIR Principles)
- If you need to request an embargo period or have any other special considerations before acceptance, please contact the DataSpace curators
- If the curators have any recommended revisions, they will contact you directly
- The review process typically takes 5-10 business days
- Receive notice of publication
- The DataSpace system will notify you when your item has been accepted, and the curators will follow up with confirmation that your item has a registered DOI
- If you need a draft DOI for your submission in advance (e.g., for inclusion in a manuscript), please contact the DataSpace curators