Domain Repository Not Available: Developing Guidance for Researchers Using Generalist Repositories

In this presentation, RDAP community members were introduced to a variety of resource materials created by the NIH Generalist Repository Ecosystem Initiative (GREI) on best practices for data management and sharing in generalist repositories. Generalist repositories offer inclusive and flexible data services, enabling researchers to publish datasets that have no other domain- or institutional-repository home. By pooling knowledge and experience from across the seven GREI repositories, we have developed a suite of platform-agnostic user resources that offer flexible and thorough guidance to both researchers and data librarians who may have limited access to institutional data management and sharing assistance.

During the session, representatives from GREI repositories presented our published generalist repository user resources: a generalist repository comparison chart, a generalist repository selection flowchart, a data submission best practices checklist, and a data management and sharing (DMS) plan guide. We also provided guidance on how data librarians can employ these resources in training and outreach and when providing data sharing support to researchers at their institutions.