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Technical University of Munich

Publish & share data

Third-party funders and journals increasingly demand the publication of research data, as this increases the reproducibility and reach of research results. We provide information on the ways in which data can be published, which platforms are particularly suitable, and which legal aspects to consider before publishing research data in a reusable and citable manner.

Dataset & data paper

Research data can be published in several ways:

  • as stand-alone dataset(s)
  • dataset(s) with an associated paper or thesis
  • dataset(s) with a data paper

A data paper is a document that describes one or more available datasets. It contains information on the collection methods, quality, and possible limitations of data usage. The dataset is usually stored in a repository and linked in the data paper. Data papers are published with peer review in journals alongside other types of articles.

Data publication offers several advantages: The reproducability of your results is improved, published data remain visible or usable in the long term, and they can be cited specifically. The so-called Citation Advantage shows that papers published with research data are cited more frequently. For more information, see the following publications:

Legal aspects & licenses

For an overview of the legal aspects of data handling, see the University Library's handout on Legal Aspects of Research Data Management.

Even anonymized data can be susceptible to deanonymization, risking your research participants' privacy. Recommended countermeasures are outlined in the handout on Data Anonymization Techniques.

Issue a license to regulate how your data or software program may be reused. The handout with Information on Licenses for Published Scientific Data and Software Programs of the University Library provides an overview of licenses.

Repository

A data repository is a technical and organizational solution to publish datasets digitally. It replaces the common practice of attaching data to a paper as an appendix. Use a subject-specific or interdisciplinary storage platform for this purpose:

  • Discipline-specific repositories
    In some disciplines, there are established subject-specific repositories. Because they are well known, the target group can easily find the data. Another advantage is content-related additional features such as subject-specific metadata standards and, in some cases, a quality check, i.e., checking the file format or plausibility of the data. If you are looking for subject-specific repositories, check with your discipline or search using the Repository Finder.
  • Interdisciplinary repositories
    If a suitable subject-specific repository is not an option, publish your data in a multidisciplinary repository. Some funding organizations offer their own. At TUM, mediaTUM is available as a media and publication server. TUM members can use it to publish all kinds of research data.

Publish on mediaTUM

Publish your research data on mediaTUM, TUM's media and publication server, with optional peer reviewer access and DOIs.

Data Publication Procedure

  1. Publication request: If you want to publish research data in mediaTUM, kindly contact us at researchdata@tum.de. To prepare the publication, we need some information. You are welcome to send us the completed publication request form. If you have any questions beforehand, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please note: The earliest possible date of publication is five working days from date of request.

  2. Metadata record: We create a metadata record in mediaTUM with the information you provide. This metadata record is not publicly visible at this point. Only you can see the entry if you have logged into mediaTUM with your TUM identifier.

  3. Upload directory: We set up a directory for uploading your data and send you the link. You can access it from the Munich Scientific Network (use a VPN connection if necessary) with your TUM identifier.

  4. Checksum file: For long-term data backup, we work with checksums. Please upload a checksum file together with your files according to the following instructions: Manual for Checksum Generation.

  5. Check and release: When you have finished uploading, we check the checksum, revoke your write access to the data directory, and finally show you the complete dataset again. If you give us the release, the dataset will be published.

  6. Peer reviewer access (optional): If you wish, we can set up an anonymous login that allows peer reviewers to access the dataset before publication.

  7. Register DOI and Concept DOI (optional): We recommend registering a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for most data publications. Subsequent changes to the dataset in question are not permitted to ensure citability. Please review your dataset carefully before giving us approval to register a DOI.

    For some datasets, it is foreseeable that changes will occur after publication. You may need to expand the dataset or update the data regularly. For such cases, we offer Concept DOIs. Each dataset version gets a DOI, while all versions combined get a shared Concept DOI. The Concept DOI always resolves to the current version. Anyone citing the dataset can now refer specifically to one version or can always refer to the most recent.

    If you want a Concept DOI for your dataset, please let us know early in all cases before you register the DOI for the first version.

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a persistent identifier that allows datasets or other publications to be quickly found and uniquely cited.

Examples of data publications in mediaTUM

Here are some examples of what finished data publications in mediaTUM can look like:

Get in touch!

For questions on how to publish and share your data, feel free to contact us at researchdata@tum.de!

Further information Submit application & planning, Store & manage data, Archive data, Reuse data

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