Research Data Management

Follow these steps to navigate UWinnipeg Borealis, a research data repository for our faculty, students and staff, and sign in to the platform to depositing a dataset.

Creating an Account

1. Go to the UWinnipeg Borealis and select Log In from the top right page menu options. 
2. Select University of Winnipeg from the Institution drop-down list and use your UWinnipeg login credentials to login/create an account 
   OR 
   Use the "Sign Up" button to create an account with a non-UWinnipeg email address. Please note you will need to agree to the Borealis Terms of Use in order to create your account

Adding a Dataset

1. Send an email to Jaime Orr, Research Data Management Librarian indicating that you are interested in depositing data. A meeting with be scheduled to discuss your specific deposit needs and the standards for deposit in UWinnipeg Borealis. Access will be granted for you to deposit your data.
2.  Navigate to the UWinnipeg Borealis. 
3. Within the UWinnipeg Borealis, click the “+ Add Data” button. From the drop-down list that appears, click “New Dataset”. 
   **If you wish to set up a custom dataverse for your lab or research group, contact the Research Data Management Librarian ***

Depositing Data

1. You should now be on the main data input screen. This is where you will add metadata to describe your dataset, upload your files, and set the terms of use.
2. Begin by selecting a Creative Commons License to apply to your dataset, under the “Dataset Template” dropdown menu. (Please Note: You will be able to add more detail in the “Terms of Use” section later on.)
   Template license options include: 

• CC 0 1.0 (public domain)
• CC BY 4.0 (attribution required for reuse) This is the default. 
• CC BY-NC 4.0 (attribution required for reuse and only for non-commercial purposes)
• CC BY-SA 4.0 (attribution required for reuse and output must be shared with the same license)
• CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (attribution required for reuse, only for non-commercial purposes, and output must be shared with the same license)
• Custom license (See “Terms of Use” after saving) 

For information about Creative Commons licenses, contact UWinnipeg’s Copyright Office. 

2. Next, start completing the required citation metadata fields. These include Title, Author, Contact, Description, and Subject. You can hover your mouse over the blue and white question mark next to the field names to get more detail about the expected information for that field.
3. If you need to add multiple authors or contacts, click the + icon to add more fields, as necessary.
4. If you would like to link your dataset to the publication associated with the dataset, you may do so under ‘Related Publications’. If you have submitted your publication to Winnspace, it is recommended that you provide the DOI for your publication in Winnspace in this section.
5. Under the “Files” heading is where you will upload your data. Click “+ Select Files to Add” to open a file explorer window to navigate to the files you wish to upload. Alternatively, you can drag and drop files into the area indicated.
6. At this step, you can decide whether any of the files you are uploading will be restricted (not openly available to the public) by clicking on the ‘Edit’ button at the top right of the file upload box. When you click ‘Save Dataset’ you will be prompted to indicate your Terms of Access and choose whether others can request access (via email). If you wish to restrict access, discuss your reasons and justification with the Research Data Management Librarian and sign an agreement with the Library allowing us to provide access in your absence.
7. Once your files are successfully uploaded, you can modify their file names and add a custom text description. You can also add tags to categorize your files. Click “Edit”, then “Tags” and select from “Data”, “Code”, “Documentation”, or create a custom tag to let users know more about the files in your dataset.
   Use Cases:

• Use the “Data” tag for your data files. 
• Use the “Code” tag for an files containing code associated with your data. 
• Use the “Documentation” tag for documentation files. Ex. Data dictionary, codebook, readme file(s), interview guides, data collection instruments, embedded metadata, etc. 

8. Once you are finished uploading and describing your files, click “Save Dataset”. 

Adding Metadata

1. After saving your dataset, you will get a preview of what the published dataset will look like in Borealis. If there were any issues uploading your files, the symbol below will appear. You can move your mouse over the symbol to learn more about the issue. 
2. If you have logged out and wish to return to add or edit your metadata, return to the Log In page and click “Username/Email” button to sign in. Once logged it, you can access your data by clicking on the tab with your name and selecting “My Data” from the drop-down menu.
3. Once each of your files are uploaded to your dataset, you will need to add more metadata to describe your files to make them discoverable. Click the “Metadata” tab and then click “Add + Edit Metadata”.
4. On the Metadata tab that appears, you will be able to use a range of fields to describe your data. Complete those that are most relevant for others to be able to discover and understand your dataset.
5. In addition to citation metadata, you can also add subject-specific metadata under the tabs listed further below, including Geospatial, Social Sciences and Humanities, Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Life Sciences and Journal Metadata categories.

Setting Terms of Use

1. Back on the dataset preview page, click the “Terms” tab to set any terms and restrictions for accessing and reusing your dataset, then “Edit Terms Requirements”. If you require support completing the fields, contact the Research Data Management Librarian. If you are restricting files, you will be required to add Terms of Use.
2. Under “Edit Terms Requirements” you can also choose to add a guestbook to your dataset. Guestbooks allow you to collect data about who is downloading the files from your datasets. You can decide to collect account information (username, given name & last name, affiliation, etc.) as well as create custom questions (e.g., What do you plan to use this data for?). You are also able to download the data collected from the enabled guestbooks as Excel files to store and use outside of Borealis.
3. When exiting, remember to click “Save Changes”.

Submitting a Dataset for Publication

1. Back on the dataset preview page, when you are ready to submit your dataset for publication by the UWinnipeg Borealis administrator, click the “Publish Dataset” button to submit for review. 
2. The Borealis administrator will review your dataset. If any changes are required, they will contact you and return the dataset to your control for necessary modifications. Otherwise, they will push your dataset to publication and notify you once this action has been completed.

This document has been adapted, with permission, from the University of Victoria’s ‘Scholars Portal Dataverse Walkthrough’: https://libguides.uvic.ca/ld.php?content_id=34607659 

Adding Bilingual Metadata

Title: Include the title in both languages, separated by an = (equals) sign: "English Title = French Title"

Many of the metadata fields in Borealis have a button with + (plus sign) to the right of the field where you can add an additional field for a translation:

Scholars Portal Borealis Guidance 

RDM Training & Workshops