Preserving data makes it possible to share data with others now and in the future. Appropriate data storage archives should be selected to ensure long term access to your data and its metadata. Additionally, backups should be maintained during your project work to prevent from unintended or accidental storage loss.
Data loss can occur in both active and passive ways. Active ways include theft, natural disasters, and misplaced external storage. Passive data loss includes format obsolesce and lack of software support. While some of these are inevitable, you can take steps towards preserving your data by creating backup copies.
A good rule to follow is the 3-2-1 rule for back ups.
3 copies of your work (1 working copy, 2 backup copies)
2 different types of storage
1 copy off-site
Long term storage in an appropriate storage location makes data sharing possible. There are different types of digital repositories available for you to use.
Institutional repositories are digital archives for scholarly materials produced at institutions.
The Galvin Library supports repository.iit, Illinois Institute of Technology's institutional repository.
The IIT Digital Repository is for you to use for whatever you want, provided that:
General subject repositories:
The following sources are directories, or lists, of data repositories.
This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.