A FAIR repository for big datasets

Figshare has been helping researchers make their data publicly available for more than 10 years, over which time we have watched data sharing grow across disciplines as funders and publishers require data sharing and researchers seek to get credit for all the products of their research. While we will continue to offer figshare.com as a freely available generalist repository for the research community, we have found that there is an increasing need for sharing larger datasets as well as to have additional flexibility to describe and organize data. We also recognize the importance of open data that is not just openly accessible but that also adheres to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). To address this, we want to offer a way for researchers to get more support during the data sharing process in making their data well documented so it can be discovered, reused, and ultimately have more impact.

That’s why we are introducing Figshare+ to offer support for sharing larger datasets in a trusted generalist repository.

We frequently get requests from researchers seeking to use figshare.com with a need for more storage space for their data or larger file size uploads. There are few options for researchers to share TBs of data in a FAIR way. There are also long term ongoing costs in ensuring the data persists.

Figshare+ offers data deposit as a one-time Data Publishing Charge (DPC) to share the datasets and materials supporting a specific publication or project. To be as transparent as possible, nearly all of the DPC cost goes towards covering our costs to host this data securely and redundantly in the cloud. Many funders allow data sharing costs to be included in grant budgets, so you may be able to use grants funds to pay for Figshare+ and can include it in data management and sharing plans in funding proposals.

Because we want researchers to get the most out of their open data, Figshare+ also offers additional license options and metadata compared to figshare.com. Personal email support is also provided during data deposit which includes the review of your dataset files and description by a Figshare data expert who can offer guidance on making your data as discoverable and reusable as possible.  

Figshare+ Features

• Publish datasets ranging from over 100GB+ up to many TBs
• Upload files up to 5TB and include up to 5,000 files per dataset
• Upload Data via the Figshare API
• Publish data and materials associated with a specific publication or research project
• Organize your dataset as a single dataset item or as up to 10 items with their own DOIs and descriptions and 1 collection with a DOI to point to all of the items together with a single DOI
• Make your data open and FAIR - open access, discoverable, and reusable
• Data stored securely in the cloud and preserved using Figshare’s archive partner, DuraCloud and UCSD’s Chronopolis
• Figshare+ data is discoverable across Figshare including Figshare.com and across search engines including Google, Google Dataset Search, and Dimensions
• License your work with your choice of Creative Commons license or software license
• Link your data to associated preprints, publications, grants, and other materials
• Meet funder or publisher requirements to share data openly in a trusted repository
• Include Figshare in data management plans and build Figshare+ data sharing costs into grant budgets with funders who allow these costs such as NIH and NSF
• Get credit for more of your work
• Get a unique DOI for each dataset that can be cited in publications and grant reports
• View openly tracked metrics for each dataset including views, downloads, citations, and Altmetrics
• Get personal email support for data deposit from Figshare’s data sharing experts
• Review and checks of your data and description by Figshare’s data review team and guidance on making the data more discoverable and reusable

Get started with sharing your big datasets today at https://knowledge.figshare.com/plus.

For questions or help with Figshare+, email review@figshare.com.

Also, see our Guide to Depositing Data on Figshare+.

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