Why use DataVault
Decide if DataVault is the right place for your data
The purpose of the DataVault is to provide you (PIs/data owners) with a long-term, low-cost, immutable, and safe storage solution for your research data, which is no longer active or not intended for publication.
The service provides:
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Secure data storage on the University’s archival storage platform
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Full encryption for sensitive data
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Restricted access (the current data owner or nominated individuals only)
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Permanent dataset identifier DOI (if required)
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Data discoverability through linkage to a Pure record
The service enables you to:
- Comply with funder and University requirements to preserve research data for the long-term
- Confidently store your data for retrieval at a future date
Who can deposit and retrieve data?
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You must be a University of Edinburgh Researcher with an active University login
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You must be the vault owner (usually the Principal Investigator) or a named delegate
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The DataVault will not ordinarily be available for storing student-generated research data.
How long will the data be stored?
- You will specify the period for which the data must be kept before being reviewed for deletion.
Next steps
- View our 'Getting started' DataVault video: How-to videos.
- Learn more about DataVault features from our blog post.
Alternatives
- If you need to make your data openly available and permanently archived you should consider using our open access repository DataShare: DataShare open access data repository.
- For other options, please see our Working with sensitive data page.