ZU Scholars

In addition to articles, book chapters and other scholarly works, ZU Scholars can also be used as a data repository. Publishing your research data is good scientific practice and already required by many funders.

See our Research Data Management guide for more information on research data management.

Submitting Research Data to ZU Scholars

1. Log in at https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae
2. Select Datasets
3. Click Submit Research under Contribute
4. Review and accept the Submission Agreement
5. Enter the basic metadata (required fields are marked separately)
6. Add your data file by clicking Upload file from your computer
7. If you want to add additional files, tick the box under Additional Files (can be added after clicking submit)
8. Click Submit

If you have a large size files that you would like to publish, please contact scholars@zu.ac.ae before submitting.

What is Research Data?

Research data is defined here as any information that has been collected, observed, generated or created to validate original research findings. Data may be numerical, descriptive, visual or tactile. It may be raw, cleaned or processed, and may be held in any format or media. Data can be, for example:

• Instrument measurements
• Experimental observations
• Images, video and audio
• Text documents, spreadsheets, databases
• Survey results and interview transcripts
• Simulation data, models and software
• Slides, artifacts, specimens, samples
• Sketches, diaries, lab notebooks

Source: ANDS Guide. What is research data?
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What is Research Data Management?

Research Data Management (RDM) is a process that includes all activity surrounding the data, e.g. planning, collecting, analyzing, organizing, describing, sharing, and preserving your research data. It includes the management of active data during your research project and also how the processed and analyzed data is preserved and shared after the project. Research Data Management is often presented as a cycle with the following or similar steps (Image Source: University of California, Santa Cruz).

Why Should I Manage my Data?

• It's good scientific practice: you ensure research integrity and reproducibility
• You increase your own research efficiency
• You save time and resources in the long run
• You enhance data security and minimize the risk of data loss
• You prevent duplication of effort by enabling others to use your data
• You meet funding body grant requirements (if applicable)
• Publishing datasets is an academic merit of its own!

FAIR Principles of Research Data Management

When working with research data, you should always try to follow the FAIR principles. These are guidelines on how to make your data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. See Share and Publish Data for more information.