Figshare Support
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How discoverable is my research?
³ÉÈË´óƬ figshare is indexed by Google and is searchable via figshare.com. Information on ³ÉÈË´óƬ datasets will also be searchable on Research Data Australia.ÌýÌý
You can increase the discoverability of your research by ensuring that your keywords are relevant and specific to your topic, and that you have fully described your work by filling in as many of the fields as possible.Ìý
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Who can view my published research outputs?
All published files on ³ÉÈË´óƬ figshare are publicly accessible online and reusable by others under a Creative Commons or other licence.
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Who can view my unpublished research files?
Only you can view your private research files before you publish. They are not visible or accessible by anyone else. However, if you are part of a ³ÉÈË´óƬ figshare project, you can elect to allow project team members to view and download your unpublished research files. This is a feature designed to encourage collaboration.Ìý
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What is the maximum storage size limit?
All staff and HDR students have 5TB of personal storage on figshare. You can upload:Ìý
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Files up to 5GB in sizeÌý
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A maximum of 500 itemsÌý
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A maximum of 500 files per item.Ìý
If you need to upload more files or larger files, please speak to the Research Technology Support Team.Ìý
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How do I connect my figshare account to my GitHub account?
GitHub is a widely used version control repository primarily for code. Linking your figshare and GitHub accounts allows you to make public the code associated with a research output and make clear which version of the code you used.Ìý
On the My data page, next to the ‘+Create a new item’ button is the Octocat GitHub icon. Clicking on the icon takes you to a page that will state you have no connected GitHub accounts.Ìý
Click the ‘Connect’ button. You will be prompted to login to GitHub.Ìý
Once logged in, the next page asks you to click on the ‘Authorize application’ button, which allows your figshare account to connect to your GitHub account. This will take you back to figshare and display your GitHub repositories.Ìý
To import, select the repositories then click ‘Import selected repos.’ You will then have the option of adding further information or closing the item.Ìý
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Can I embargo the research output I want to publish until my research paper is published?
Figshare offers two types of embargo.Ìý
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You can apply the embargo to the files only, meaning that the description will be publicly visible but the research files themselves will not be.ÌýÌý
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You can also apply the embargo to the whole item, meaning that both the description and the research files will not be publicly available until the embargo has expired.Ìý
Embargoes can be set for either a set period (1 month, 4 months, 6 months, 12 months or 2 years) or by using the calendar to select a specific end date. You can also choose to apply a permanent embargo if the item will never be released publicly.Ìý
Regardless of which method you choose, the published item will clearly state that an embargo currently applies and provide the date the embargo ends.Ìý
An embargo allows you to provide a publisher with a DOI for the data to be made available without revealing any of your work until you are ready. Embargo dates can be edited as long as the item has not been published.Ìý
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How do I link my ORCiD to figshare?
When you login to figshare for the first time, complete My Profile and link your ORCID. Login to ORCID and activate the DataCite link. This will allow your records for datasets and NTROs to be added automatically to your ORCID record.Ìý
For more help, see the Sync your ORCiD quick reference guide.
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How do I link my datasets / NTROs to my publications?
To link your datasets to your publication, you need to reserve a DOI for the dataset which then goes in the publication. Next, put the journal article’s DOI or URL in the Related Materials field in figshare.ÌýÌý
Upon publication of the item the DOI is activated, meaning the article links to the data via ´Ú¾±²µ²õ³ó²¹°ù±ð’s DOI and the data links to the article by the article’s DOI or URL. ÌýÌý
To see a real world example, Dr Alice Jones from the School of Biological Sciences published t in figshare. In both a highlighted box on the left hand side of the record, and the related materials section at the bottom of the record, there is a link to her published paper in the journal Ecology and Evolution.ÌýÌýÌý
From the paper, when you click on the DOI in the data availability statement in the Open Research section you’ll be taken back to the published dataset in figshare, demonstrating the bidirectional linking.Ìý
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What is the most appropriate licence for my data?
The Licence dropdown will be prepopulated with the CC BY 4.0 licence. The University’s specifies that the Creative Commons – Attribution (CC-BY) licence is to be used except where this is not appropriate. This could include: Ìý
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specific licenses required by funders or journals Ìý
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licensing requirements of software or code. Creative Commons licenses are not suitable for these purposes and a large range of open licences have been developed to meet these needs. The ARDC outlines the different licenses available to give you the information to choose. A list of licenses is available from the . Ìý
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data collected includes sensitive or personal information which is not suitable for sharing. Ìý
If the default CC BY 4.0 licence is not used, the alternative licence use and justification for using it must be documented in your data management plan.. Ìý
Click to view a summary table outlining the Creative Commons licences available. Ìý
A Restricted Access option is also available from the dropdown list of licenses. This may be appropriate to use when data cannot be published openly, e.g. Ìý
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includes sensitive information Ìý
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includes personal information or identifies individuals Ìý
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is commercially sensitive or has potential commercial applications Ìý
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ownership of data is shared with another party. Ìý
The University has a list of questions to consider before publishing data to assist you. If you are unsure about which licence to use, the ARDC’s may help or please contact Research Support at figshare@adelaide.edu.au Ìý
In cases where Restricted Access is appropriate, you can select the Set as metadata record radio button when creating a record in figshare. This will allow you to create a record which describes your data but does not require you to upload the associated data files.  Ìý
Metadata only records describing Class 3 and 4 data, as described in the University’s Information Classification and Protection Guidelines, may be made available using figshare. The data itself should not be uploaded to figshare however and must instead be stored in a University managed storage solution. For assistance with Class 3 and 4 data storage, please seeÌýStorage for Staff.
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Can uploading my research onto figshare be considered as pre-publication?
Information about this can be found on the .
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Can I edit or delete my research after it has been made public?
Information about this can be found on the .
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Is figshare suitable for storing Class 3 or 4 data?
Metadata only records describing Class 3 and 4 data, as described in the University’s Information Classification and Protection Guidelines, may be made available using figshare. The data itself should not be uploaded to figshare however and must instead be stored in a University managed storage solution. For assistance with Class 3 and 4 data storage, please seeÌýStorage for Staff.Ìý 
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How does figshare support version control?
Information about this can be found on the .
These quick reference guides are designed to help you get started using figshare. They contain step-by-step instructions for creating, adding to, and managing your figshare content.
Figshare basics
- Log in to figshare
- Manage your figshare profile
- Sync your ORCiD to figshare
- Writing good metadata
- Sensitive data
- How discoverable is my research?
- Licences
- Publishing software or code
Figshare items
- Create an item
- Item types
- Item categories and keywords
- Choose a license
- Edit an item after publication
- Embargoes
- Share a private item
- DOIs
- Publish an item
- Create a linked file
- Create a metadata record
- Upload metadata for UA-GRDC data assets to Figshare