Finding and reusing data

Where to find data

Published datasets can be a valuable resource to use and cite in your research. Datasets across many disciplines can be found in data centres and repositories, which are generally established by research funders and researcher communities. Details of these can be found through indexing services and data portals including:

• Re3Data: Database of data repositories
• Fairsharing.org: Catalogue of databases and related resources
• DataCite: Database of datasets and repositories
• European Union Open Data Portal: Catalogue of open datasets
• Data Citation Index (DCI): Database of datasets (TUoS access through the Library Web of Science page)
• EMBL-EBI: Database of repositories and other resources
• Google Dataset Search (Please note: this is still in Beta and not comprehensive)

You can find out more on our research data repositories web page.

Using data

When using published data, you should always check and comply with the copyright and licensing terms specified by the data depositor.

Citing data

When you use or refer to published data in your research, you should cite it correctly, as should other researchers when using your data. This enables data discovery, reuse and verification, as well as impact assessment. A citation may typically take the following format:

Creator (PublicationYear). Title. Version. Publisher. ResourceType. Identifier

You can find more information about citing data at:

• Digital Curation Centre
• DataCite
• University of Sheffield Library’s referencing guide.

For further information, please contact rdm@sheffield.ac.uk