Finding a suitable repository
Repositories are document servers on which digital materials are archived and made accessible worldwide free of charge. These materials include traditional forms of publication (e.g., monographs, articles, reports, and handouts) as well as preprints, secondary publications, lecture notes, presentation slides, or research data.
Publications in repositories are discoverable and citable through persistent identifiers (e.g., DOI and ORCID iD). Visibility of documents is ensured by overarching search engines (e.g., Base, OpenAIRE, and Google Scholar), library catalogs, and subject databases.
There are institutional repositories that are operated by research institutions or research associations for their members and disciplinary repositories that are available to scientists of one discipline.
How do I find a suitable repository?
The choice of a suitable repository depends on the established practices of the respective discipline and the requirements of research funding bodies or publishers. If you are not bound to specifications, we recommend choosing subject-specific repositories due to their higher visibility for the respective research community. The Repository Finder of re3data.org and FAIRsharing.org will help you to find a discipline-specific repository.
The general-purpose repositories Zenodo and Open Science Framework are a good choice if you cannot find an established discipline-specific repository and are suitable for all types of research outputs and all file formats. For software, git-based repositories are recommended and provide version control of code.
Are there repositories at BUA institutions?
The following institutional repositories are available within the Berlin University Alliance:
- Freie Universität Berlin: Refubium
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: edoc-Server
- Technische Universität Berlin: DepositOnce
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin: uses the repository of Freie Universität Berlin (Refubium)
Is there quality control for repositories?
Yes. In Germany, the DINI certificate is an established seal of quality for repositories and assesses the service provided by repositories. The DINI certificate guarantees that your data will be archived, findable, and usable in the long term.
What should I bear in mind when making a secondary publication in a repository?
We advise all authors to confirm if they have the legal authorisation to self-archive their scientific contributions. Please read our separate article on self-archiving (secondary publication) about conditions you need to consider for second publications.