Uploading & Sharing Your Data FAQs

To upload your research data contact RDP staff for assistance.

What kind of data can I deposit?

FIU’s Research Data Portal supports publishing of a wide variety of data and related electronic material created by Faculty, Students and Staff at FIU. This includes:

  • Spreadsheets
  • Surveys
  • GIS Data and Imagery
  • Code

If you have a research data type not listed above, please contact RDP staff for assistance.

What format should I provide my data in?

Choosing an appropriate format for the data is an important aspect of long term access and usability. When use a preferred archival and preservation file format, you ensure that your data will continue to be accessible. Below are basic guidelines when preparing data for submission:

  • Non-proprietary
  • Open, documented standards
  • Commonly used by your community/discipline
  • Standard character encoding (ASCII, UTF-8)
  • Unencrypted

Specifically, recommended formats for the following data types are recommended:

  • Tabular Data – .csv, .tab, .por
  • GIS Shape Data - .shp, .shx, .dbf, optional - .prj, .sbx, .sbn
  • Textual Data - .rtf, .txt
  • Documentation and scripts - .rtf, .pdf, htm, .odt
  • For a full list of format by data type visit https://library.fiu.edu/c.php?g=573548&p=4140026

How Large Can Datasets Be?

The Research Data Portal is intended for smaller datasets with any individual file uploaded to be under 2GB. Datasets up to 10GB will be accepted. For datasets larger than 10GB contact RDP staff at rdm@fiu.edu.

Is there a charge for depositing data?

There is currently no fee for depositing datasets under 10GB in the Research Data Portal.

Can I restrict access to my data?

All data published in the Research Data Portal will be made openly accessible.

The default access for data uploaded to the Research Data Portal is open access with a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-0) license. There are additional licensing options via Creative Commons in addition to defining specific terms of use.