Find existing data resources
In addition to creating and collecting new data for your project, you can draw on a wealth of data already available to complement and enrich your own research. With proper attention paid to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Data Protection & Ethics, you may be able to process existing raw data to create entirely new research outputs. Use the following guide and links to discover more about existing data resources.
How do I find and access existing data resources?
There are a growing number of digital repositories and data centres, each containing various content and covering a multitude of subject areas. The majority of them share openly with the public.
(Directory of Open Access Repositories) maintains an online list of open access digital repositories and has a content search tool.
Data centres are online stores of discipline or subject specific data. There is currently no definitive list of available data centres but popular examples include:
You can also search the . This is a digital repository of multi-disciplinary datasets produced by Sussex academics.
How do I cite other people's data?
According to , the recommended format for a data citation is as follows:
- Creator (PublicationYear): Title. Publisher. Identifier
You may also wish to include information from two optional properties, Version and ResourceType (as appropriate). If so, the recommended form is as follows:
- Creator (PublicationYear): Title. Version. Publisher. ResourceType. Identifier
For citation purposes, DataCite recommends that DOI (Digital Object Identifier) names are displayed as linkable, permanent URLs:
- Irino, T; Tada, R (2009): Chemical and mineral compositions of sediments from ODP Site 127‐797. Geological Institute, University of Tokyo.