Describe research data in the SND catalogue

What are Doris and the SND catalogue?

The Swedish national data service (SND) provides and maintains a national catalogue for research data. Doris is the name of the service that researchers can use to describe research data in the national data catalogue. 

When the description of a dataset has been submitted, it will go through a review process before it is published in the catalogue.

Guide to describing research data in Doris

The process of describing data in Doris consists of seven sections. It is a good idea to start preparing the metadata before beginning your description in Doris. This will save time and make the task easier. 

1. Accessibility, responsibility and roles

• Specify which higher education institution is responsible for the data. If research data are the result of a collaboration, it is important to know, which higher education institution owns which part of the research data and who is responsible for making them accessible.
• Make a list of names and affiliations of all creators of the data, as well as an appointed contact person.
• Who is to be cited? All of the researchers who are to be cited together with the dataset need to be registered under the heading "Creator/Principal Investigator".
• Where will the data be stored?
• Will the data be openly accessible though anonymous to download, or do they contain personal data or other information that need to be protected?

2. General description

• Title in Swedish and English. If there is no recognized title in Swedish, the English title will do.
• Describe your research data in as much detail as possible so that external researchers can easily understand how your data have been generated and analysed.

Coordinate the Swedish and English description. They are displayed on different pages in the SND catalogue and the reader needs to know, whether there are any differences in the content of the English and Swedish versions of a data description. It is OK to write a shortened description in Swedish, but please make sure you refer to the English descriptions for the details missing in the Swedish one. 

3. Topics and keywords

• Choose topic and keywords.

You can choose keywords from lists of controlled vocabularies, and you can add keywords of your own choice. The more keywords you use, the easier it will be for search engines to find the data description.

4. Geographic coverage

If applicable, specify the geographic area of your study.

5. Data, collection and access

Organise and describe your data sets in Swedish and English.

• Which sets of data are included?
• Does every data set have an informative title? The title is important, since it is visible alongside the DOI in the suggestion on how to reference the data.
• Which data files are included in a particular set of data?
• What data formats are the files in? Whenever possible, please use data formats with open code, and PDF A-format. If a data set contains proprietary file formats, include a description of the software needed to open these files.
• How were the data files created, what do they contain and how can they be used?
• Who created what data?
• Which copyright license would you like to give to different parts of the research data?

6. Publications 

Please, add a reference to the publications that include your data and make sure you include DOI and other persistent identifiers. You may add further publications over time.

ORCID, Umu-id, and other identifiers for researchers

Persistent identifiers for publications and data

7. Documentation files

Enclose one or several documentation files with descriptions of your research data. This can be, for example, one or several text files. The documentation files are important since they contain information that is crucial for others to understand and reuse the research data.

Frequently asked questions about Doris and the SND catalogue 

What counts as research data?

Any material that is the basis for scientific analysis counts as research data. For example, research data can be:

• text documents
• calculation documents
• sound sequences
• images
• movies
• registers
• databases
• web pages.

From an archival perspective, documents as defined in the Swedish "Freedom of the Press Act" are research data. This means that everything attached to a medium that may be experienced repeatedly is such a document.

What kind of research data can I describe in the SND catalogue?

Any research data generated within the boundaries of current legislation and good research practice can be described in the SND catalogue. However, please note that research data that include personal data may NOT be uploaded to the SND. This data must be stored locally at Umeå University.

How long does it take before a data description is published in the SND catalogue?

The library reviews research data and its description according to the SND policy for reviewing data and metadata. How long it takes to publish a catalogue entry depends on how well the research data is documented. Please be prepared that it may take some time.

SND policy for review of data and metadata

How does the review process work?

A data description is reviewed by two specialists, who perform their review independently of each other:

1. A local specialist at the university library reviews the research data and their description.
2. A revised version is passed on to the SND for further quality control and review.

It is usually necessary to review the data description several times before publishing. This process is similar to reviewing a manuscript prior to publication in a scholarly journal.

We are waiting for an article, building on the data, to be published. Can we register the data description and delay the publishing of the data description?

It is possible to delay publishing a data description until your article is published by a scholarly journal. It can be an advantage, however, to register your data in good time before it is due to be published. You will then be prepared if the publishing of research data needs to be synchronised with the publication of the corresponding article.

The data set will not be published until the researcher communicates that the manuscript has been accepted for publication. If the review of the data description is finished while an article is still in the review process SND will withhold its publication until the researcher approves it. This will also be the case if the research data is going through a closed review for a scholarly journal.

Can I store research data at SND?

Research data without personal data

SND can store research data that does not contain personal data or other protectable information. As a researcher, you can upload data files of up to 500 MB directly via Doris. If you have data files larger than 500 MB, you can get help uploading them. In this case, please contact SND.

Contact SND

From a long-term perspective, all research data are to be stored locally at the higher education institution responsible for the research. SND will not accept research data in the future and will only publish metadata in their catalogue.

Research data containing personal data

Research data containing personal data can only be described in the SND catalogue. The storage of sensitive data must take place in a secure storage location at the higher education institution where the research has been carried out.

May I publish a research data description in the SND catalogue, even if the data have already been published in another catalogue or repository?

It is perfectly acceptable to publish a research data description in the SND catalogue even if you have already submitted your data to another repository. It can actually be an advantage to do so. Please make sure the metadata description in the catalogue of the SND is coordinated that in the other repository so that the information corresponds. Also make sure you link the posts in other repositories by including persistent identifiers for your research data, a machine readable DOI for example.

Persistent identifiers for publications and data

Further information

You will find further information on how to prepare research data before their publication in  the catalogue at the SND website.

Prepare the data for deposit (SND)

FAQ (SND)