LibGuides: NIH Data Management & Sharing Policy: Finding a Data Repository

Repositories for Sharing Scientific Data

NIH encourages researchers to select the repository that is most appropriate for their data type and discipline. This guide includes links to NIH-supported Scientific Data Repositories, Generalist Repositories, Nature's Data Repository Guidance, and Repository Search Tools. Please use these resources to select a data repository which is most appropriate for your data.

NIH-supported Scientific Data Repositories

NIH-supported Scientific Data Repositories
Browse through this listing of NIH-supported repositories to learn more about some places to share scientific data. Note that this list is not exhaustive. Select the link provided in the “Data Submission Policy” column to find data submission instructions for each repository.

Generalist Repositories

Per the National Institutes of Health:

While NIH encourages the use of domain-specific repositories where possible, such repositories are not available for all datasets. When investigators cannot locate a repository for their discipline or the type of data they generate, a generalist repository can be a useful place to share data. Generalist repositories accept data regardless of data type, format, content, or disciplinary focus. NIH does not recommend a specific generalist repository and the list below, which is not exhaustive, is provided as a guide for locating generalist repositories.

Nature’s Data Repository Guidance

Nature’s Data Repository Guidance
The list is intended as a guide for those who are unsure where to deposit their data, and provides examples of repositories from a number of disciplines. The repositories on this list met all of Nature's data hosting requirements at the time of listing.

Repository Search Tools

Registry of Research Data Repositories (re3data)
Re3data is a global registry of research data repositories that covers research data repositories from different academic disciplines. It includes repositories that enable permanent storage of and access to data sets to researchers, funding bodies, publishers, and scholarly institutions. re3data promotes a culture of sharing, increased access and better visibility of research data. The registry has gone live in autumn 2012 and has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Repository Finder
Repository Finder, a pilot project of the Enabling FAIR Data Project led by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in partnership with DataCite and the Earth, space and environment sciences community, can help you find an appropriate repository to deposit your research data. The tool is hosted by DataCite and queries the re3data registry of research data repositories.
FAIRsharing Registry
Based at the University of Oxford, UK, FAIRsharing has become a sustainable service, operating since 2011 with and for the researchers and all other stakeholders involved in the data life cycle. The operational team is based in the Data Readiness Group, at the University of Oxford, supported by the Bodleian Library for DOI generation and access to the ORCID member-only API.

Last updated on Jun 3, 2025 7:44 AM