RDAP Review: Edinburgh DataShare: Reflections from a Data Repository Manager

A no-cost data repository service for university researchers, the Edinburgh DataShare has grown from a demonstration project to an integral part of the research data management (RDM) initiative of the University of Edinburgh. The initiative is designed to serve data management planning, data storage, data stewardship and data support, as well as provide a data asset registry and a vault where data will be retained for a period of time. Pilot testing the repository and RDM services has led to changes in the interface and workflow to improve usability. Testing by a clinical health instructor raised questions about anonymized patient data, confidentiality and vulnerability to hacking and led to a decision to cap the embargo on data access at five years. Additional testing for very large datasets and multimedia datasets remains to be done to determine the minimum amount of data fields that will serve a variety of purposes.