This page will provide you with an overview of the purpose and use of the UNSW Data Archive.

This page contains the following elements:

 

What is the UNSW Data Archive?

The UNSW Data Archive provides long-term data management and storage options for UNSW research staff and students. As a UNSW researcher, the Data Archive will give you free access to securely archive all your research data and share it with your team. The Data Archive is designed to help UNSW researchers comply with the UNSW Research Code of Conduct and the UNSW Procedure for Handling Research Material and Data.

The intent of the Data Archive is to support researchers to archive their research data and retrieve it when necessary. The UNSW Data Archive has been set up as the University's institutional archive store for archival purposes. As such, uploaded files cannot be deleted.

Download the Data Archive posters and the flyer.

 

What do I need to access the Data Archive?

How do I access the Data Archive?

There are a three ways to access the Data Archive:

All researchers are able to upload, download, share, locate and review their research data using the Web application (see the Web application guide for further information). The other options, for researchers with specific needs, include using a SFTP Client (see the SFTP client guide for further information), and a Command line Script (see the Command line script guide for further information).

The size of your data and frequency of data creation will influence how you interact with the Data Archive. Please use the table below to determine which method aligns with your needs:

Data size
Number of Files
Best solution

Under 50 gigabytes (GB)

Under 1000

Web application.
See the Web application guide.

Under 50 gigabytes (GB)

Over 1000

Web application.
See the Web application guide
Note: consider compressing your dataset before uploading or using SFTP (see the SFTP client guide).

Over 50 gigabytes (GB)

 

SFTP Client.
See the SFTP client guide.

Regular or automated upload of data

 

SFTP Client or Command line script.
See the SFTP client guide and the Command line script guide.

 

Core elements of the Data Archive application

Note: do not use the browser navigation buttons when inside the Web application.

 

Video: Navigating the Data Archive

 

Video: Viewing data in Asset Finder:

 

There are four applications available to users of the Data Archive:

Note: double click on the icon of the selected option to open

Asset Finder

Note: Double click to open your Collections (folder) - the label/name of your Collections will correspond to the Research Data Management Plan Project ID - when in Asset Finder.

Asset Map

  • Location based data display for data with geospatial metadata
  • Location based data discovery for data with geospatial metadata

Metadata Library

  • Create and update metadata document definitions with a simple graphical tool
  • Define and edit metadata documents
  • Add metadata (in addition to that automatically extracted when uploading) during upload, or to data already in the Data Archive. See the Metadata guide for more information

Dictionaries

  • Create and maintain arbitrary look-up lists (dictionaries), consisting of terms and associated definitions
  • Metadata documents can refer to specific dictionaries

Searching the Data Archive:

Locating data inside the Data Archive is achieved in a variety of ways. See the Search, filters, views, favourites page for how to locate data.

 

Help and further information: