FAQs

General questions

Who can deposit in the SDR?
Members of the Stanford community -- students, faculty, staff –- use the SDR. Through strategic partnerships with Stanford Libraries, other research and cultural heritage institutions preserve and make available their collections using SDR services.

What content is appropriate for the SDR?
Material of scholarly value that supports Stanford's mission of research, teaching, and learning today and into the future, is appropriate for deposit in the SDR. Personal files should not be deposited.

Can I deposit content in the SDR that has been deposited in another repository?
Yes, you can, provided that deposit in the SDR is not at odds with the terms of your third-party deposit agreement. 

Can I include the SDR in my data management plan?
Yes. Check out the Data Management Services web site for complete information about data management plans and the SDR.

Can I deposit my invention that is managed by the Office of Technology Licensing?
Yes. After first working with the OTL, please contact the SDR Team to make necesssary arrangements.

Can I search the SDR? How can I find content deposited in the SDR?
Content in the SDR is indexed for search in SearchWorks, Stanford's primary source for library and information resources.  The SDR does not have a stand-alone, dedicated search interface. A list of select SDR collections in SearchWorks is available for browsing. 

Is there a limit to the size of a deposit?
There are no strict upper limits to the size of an SDR deposit. For web-based deposit, 8-10 GB is a practical upper size limit for uploading and downloading content using a web browser (over the http protocol). Your experience may vary depending on number of files, relative size of each, available network bandwidth, etc.  

If you have a larger deposit (over 10GB), please contact the SDR Team to develop a plan for making the deposit. A minimum of 20 business days is required for processing a large deposit and publishing it to a persistent URL (PURL).  

What does it cost to deposit?
Please refer to our page on Pricing. 

What is a PURL?
A PURL is the online location, the persistent URL, for a piece of content deposited in the SDR.  It provides a reliable citation and ready access (as permitted), and is linked from the content's catalog record in SearchWorks.  Here is an example: http://purl.stanford.edu/zc193vn8689.

Does the SDR offer usage metrics or other analytics about my deposits, such as number of page hits, file downloads, or referring sites?
No, not yet.

How is the SDR different from University IT storage services?
SDR services focus on the stewardship of content that has long-term value to the institution and its mission to support research, teaching and learning. Read more about when to use the SDR.

How is the SDR different from other data repositories, such as Dryad, Figshare, GenBank, PubMed, ICPSR, or Dataverse? Why should I deposit in the SDR as opposed to, or in addition to, other data repositories?
The SDR offers services that are complementary to, not competitive with, other data repositories. Benefits of depositing in the SDR include the association with Stanford University and trust in the institution’s commitment to long-term stewardship of Stanford-produced research and other scholarly materials of value to Stanford scholars. By depositing your content in multiple repositories, you increase the likelihood of its long-term preservation and heighten visibility of your content by other researchers. 

Can I use the SDR for sharing or collaborating on files with fellow researchers at Stanford or other institutions?
The SDR is not a file sharing or collaboration space, like Google Docs or Box.com. The SDR is for archiving files that are “finished” and ready for long-term sharing and preservation. SDR does not currently support online deposit or restricted access by anyone who does not have a SUNet account.

How can I make a change to (update) my deposit?
If you deposited content using the Online Deposit system, you can modify the content -- update, replace or edit description and files or change the license or access settings -- using that system. If you did not deposit online, or require other help to make changes, contact the SDR team.

How can I manage my content in SDR after I leave Stanford?
If you deposited content using the Online Deposit system and you still have an active SUNet account, you can manage your content using that system. If you did not deposit online, or your SUNet is expired, please contact the SDR team.