Welcome to Figshare for Institutions
Your institution now has access to Figshare, an online platform for citing, sharing, and discovering research data. This user guide will walk you through the process of uploading, publishing, and sharing your data on Figshare.
For more guidance on using Figshare, please visit https://knowledge.figshare.com.
What is Figshare?
Figshare is a place to make all your research data citable, shareable, and discoverable. Use it to share your supplementary research to make them first class outputs. Share both positive and negative results and get credit for all your research.
Some of the features of Figshare include the following.
For more information, you can find us at:
website: www.figshare.com
twitter: @figshare
general enquiries: support@figshare.com
support site: support.figshare.com
knowledge portal: knowledge.figshare.com
How to login
To login, click on the red Log in button in the top right side of the screen. Enter your user name and password. These may be your institution’s single sign-on credentials or you may have been issued a username and password.
How to upload your data
There are several ways to upload your data, depending on the size:
Your private space limit is dependent on your institution. Please contact your institutional admins if you require more space.
1. Select the +Create a new item button from the top left or just drag and drop your file(s) into the browser.
Dragging more than one file into the browser will prompt you to create one item with multiple files or create
individual new items.
2. Insert a Title. For information on how best to complete the fields for maximum exposure of your data, see our how-to guide here. Tips on how to fill out each of the fields can also be found on the right side of the screen.
3. Add Authors. You can rearrange the order in which the authors appear and remove yourself as an author if you are uploading on behalf of someone. You can also search by entering the email address or ORCID (if the author has synced their ORCID to their Figshare account) of the author you want to add. To add an author who doesn’t have a Figshare account, select Add author details and enter their name, email address (optional), and ORCID (optional).
4. Select a Category. These are taken from the Australian Fields of Research classification system. You can choose more than one and either select from the drop-down menu or search for your subject area. If you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, we recommend finding the best option and getting more specific in the Keywords section.
4b. You may see a field called Group. This is an optional field set by your institution which allows users to select the group in which the item should appear. If this field appears on your institution’s instance of Figshare, please select a group from the dropdown menu. You can also search for the group in the search bar at the top of the menu.
When this item is published, it will appear in the group you have selected from the menu. If the text in the field is grey, it means you only belong to one group and are unable to select any alternative groups.
5. Select the Item type from the drop-down menu. We accept any file type and preview over 1,200 file extensions in the browser. This field may be auto populated based on the file extension you have uploaded but you can override it by selected a different option from the drop-down menu.
6. Add Keyword(s). These should be more specific than the category and help others find your research. Add as many keywords as you want - just hit enter after each keyword. Figshare remembers ones you’ve entered previously and will suggest keywords based on keywords that have been added to the database previously.
7. Write a Description. This should include any relevant information that pertains to your research - this might include information about the methodology, approval for data collection, or legal or ethical requirements. Be as descriptive as you can! You can also paste HTML into this field.
8. You can also add Funding information related to your data and References to other materials related to your research outputs. When typing in your funder information, Figshare will search the Dimensions database for your funder and hyperlink to the Dimensions page bridging the connection between your research outputs and the funder. To add funding information that doesn’t appear in Dimensions, just type the funder information into the field and don’t select anything from the drop-down menu.
Neither of these fields are required in order to publish data.
Once you’ve published the item, you can click on the Funding information to see more information.
Please note: If you're a Figshare for Institutions user, you may see fields called Resource Title and Resource DOI. This is a set of fields that allow you to create a link between a peer-reviewed publication and your data. Simply add the publication title and DOI into these fields, respectively, and when you publish your item, a title and link to the publication will appear in a box on the right hand side of the public page for your item.
9. Select a License. This will determine how others can reuse your data. You can choose from a number of licenses based on your reuse requirements. For more information on which license to choose, click here.
10. Tick Publish. When doing so, you’ll be prompted to check the license you’ve assigned and the terms of use. If your institution has review turned on, you may be prompted that your item will be sent for review before it’s made publicly available. Make sure everything you have submitted is accurate - once it’s published, it’s permanently available.
Other things to consider:
Edit in batch
You can go back and edit items after you’ve made them publicly available. Some changes may trigger a new version. See here to find out which amends will generate a new version of your item.
You can also batch edit items that have already been published. In My Data, select the items to be updated, click on Actions at the top of the page, and select Edit in batch.
Once you’ve selected the items to be edited in bulk, select the metadata fields to edit. Custom metadata fields will be displayed here, as well.
How to upload linked files, embargoed items and restricted access, and metadata records only
There are a number of reasons why you may want to conditionally upload your files:
1. How to upload a linked file
Click the Link file button at the top of the screen and copy the link in the box. This option only appears if you haven’t uploaded a file to the item. The below GIF includes an example of a linked file item on Figshare.
2. How to upload an embargoed item and restricted access
Select the Apply Embargo and restricted access button. Select a time period for the embargo; for permanent embargoes, select 'permanent embargo' at the bottom of the dropdown menu. Choose whether the embargo is on the files only or on the entire content (files and metadata). Depending on how your institution has configured restricted publishing, you may see additional options for who can access the embargoed content.
The item owner can also add an option reason as to why this item is under an embargo. This is useful for people who are viewing the public metadata record.
The item owner can also change the title of the embargo (the standard text is 'File(s) under embargo') and add an optional reason as to why this item is under an embargo. This is useful for people who are viewing the public metadata record.
Your institution may have an option configured to allow users to request access to your restricted files. You can include additional context for anyone requesting access to the files. If anyone requests access to your restricted files through this feature, you and your institutional administrators will receive an email request to grant access.
Please note: there is currently no way to share restricted access files with a user in the interface. This has to be done using an external service.
3. How to make metadata records
Tick the metadata record only box at the top of the screen and enter a reason. This option only appears if you haven’t uploaded a file to the item. The below GIF includes an example of a metadata record.
How to restore a deleted file
Once a file is deleted from an item, you have 30 days to restore it. Simply select the option to restore it on the right hand side, hover over the file(s) you want to restore, and click on the circular icon to restore the files to the item.
How to request more storage quota
Login and head to your My Data tab. When hovering over the storage bar you will see the option to request more. Clicking on request more? brings up the form shown below. Enter the total overall storage quota you require and any additional comments that may assist your administrator when deciding on the modified storage amount. Hit submit and once approved your new quota amount will be visible in the storage bar.
How to use keywords to organise files (alternative to a file structure)
While Figshare doesn’t currently offer a folder structure to organise files, you can use the keyword feature as an alternative. There are actually alternatives to using keywords as items can be in multiple ‘folders’ by having multiple tags. The below example shows how to use keywords as a way of organising your data.
1. Upload the items you want to organise into your My Data as instructed above.
2. Select the items you want to add a keyword to (i.e. items you want to organise within a folder) and click Actions, Edit in batch (documentation on how to edit in batch can also be found above).
3. Click on Keywords. From this screen, you can add a keyword to all items you’ve chosen to edit. In this example, we’ve added ‘Land Use Maps of the UK - ‘ to the start of each title and some Keywords to each one:
‘land use mapping’
‘Project XYZ123’
‘XYZ-Maps-Folder’
Then the three maps from England were selected and batch edit was used to give those the additional keyword tag:
‘XYZ123-England-Subfolder’
Then the three maps from Northern Ireland were selected and batch edit was used to give those the additional keyword tag:
‘XYZ123-NorthernIreland-Subfolder’
4. Now that these items have various keywords acting as folders and subfolders, you can search within your My Data to see items with one or more of those keywords:
5. You can then add these items to a Project and also search within the Project for various keywords. Guidance on how to create a Project is available below. Adding these items to a Project is a good way of allowing others to upload items, as well. Another member of the project (with contributor status) can add more items to the project with the appropriate folder and subfolder tags, so that searches for those keyword tags within the project would find the items from both contributors.
Batch edit can be used to replace these tags prior to publication if you don’t want these internal file management tags to be seen on the published items.
How to use projects
Projects are collaborative spaces used for ongoing work. You can upload data that is in progress and have users make comments. Projects are secure spaces that can be used for sensitive data. You can also collaborate with people outside your institution by inviting them to your project.
There are two different types of projects: individual projects and group projects.
|
Individual Projects |
Group Projects |
|
Everyone uses their own quota and account storage. |
Submitters’ quota will not be used, storage allocation comes directly from the project. |
|
People take their work with them if they leave the project. |
All work is stored on institutional storage and remains within the project space if people leave. |
|
Items are created using the metadata schema of the submitter. |
Contributors must adopt the metadata schema of the project owner. |
|
Items appear in the subgroup of the uploader. |
Items appear in the subgroup of the project owner. |
|
Items published by users from outside the organisation don’t have to go through review (if review is turned on for the group). |
Items published by users from outside the organisation have to go through review (if review is turned on for the group). |
1. How to start a project
Go to your My Data page and select the Projects tab. Click on the +Create a new project button. Complete the metadata fields as descriptively as possible. If this project is for individual use, select the individual option under Allocate storage. To use group storage, select the group option and find the relevant group.
Add users to the project by searching on the right hand side. Add users not currently on Figshare by clicking on the invite new users link. Users can either be collaborators or viewers. Collaborators can comment on the project and the data within it and upload items, while viewers can only view the data. To make the project public, you must first make at least one item public within the project.
Please note: The project owner, collaborators, and viewers cannot edit another uploader’s items. Items must be downloaded, edited, and re-uploaded to the project.
2. How to add data and notes to a project
Select Add a new item, which takes you to the metadata form. Once you’ve saved the item, it will appear in the home page of the project. As a collaborator, you can comment on individual items within the project or on the project as a whole.
You can also move data from your My data to a project by clicking the checkbox to the left of the item you want to move in your My data, clicking on Actions, selecting Move to/from project, and selecting the project you want to move the data to/from.
How to use Collections
Collections are ways of collating data that bring it together under a theme. They can be either private or public and can be assigned a DOI.
1. How to create a Collection
Go to the Collections tab under My Data. Complete the sections with a green dot next to them to make it public. Click Save changes once you’ve completed the form.
2. How to add data to a Collection
There are two ways to add data to a Collection:
1) Once you’ve created the Collection, select Add public items or My data. If you select from public items, you can search and select the items you wish to add to your collection. The same process applies if you choose from your data. If you’re a member of an institution that is using Figshare for Institution, you can also filter by your institution’s data.
2) If you find a public item you wish to add to a Collection, simply select +Collect and choose the Collection to add it to.
3. How to publish a Collection
Once you’ve collected your data, you can make your Collection public by selecting the Manage gear wheel on the right side of the screen and selecting Publish collection. Once you’ve published a collection, it’s permanent.
4. Updating a Collection
In order to display metadata changes or new items that have been added to or removed from the collection, a new version of the collection must be generated. Once the changes have been made, click on the 'Manage' cog wheel in the top right of the collection and select 'Generate version'.
How to sync your ORCiD
Figshare offers an ORCiD integration that, once connected, will allow you to push all of your public items from Figshare to ORCiD.
To push all of your public items from Figshare to ORCID you need to ensure DataCite is authorised on your ORCiD account. DataCite are responsible for issuing the DOIs to data in Figshare. Once authorised, your public Figshare items will be displayed in the work section of your ORCiD profile. The following screenshots show you how to authorize DataCite on your ORCiD account.
Step 1: Sign in at https://profiles.datacite.org/
Step 2: Sign in with your ORCiD
Step 3: Authorize
After logging in to your ORCiD account:
1. Scroll down to the Works section and click +Add works
2. Select Search & link, you’ll be presented with the services you can link to
3. Select DataCite
Next, you will be presented with a permissions form. Upon reviewing the Privacy Policy, tick the box alongside 'Allow this permission until I revoke it' and select Authorise.
You will then be taken to your DataCite settings page. To check the authorisation has worked successfully head back to ORCiD and to your Account Settings tab. ORCiD should now be listed as a Trusted organisation.
Furthermore, you can set up a DataCite profile (if you don't already have one) and then give DataCite permission to automatically update your ORCID record. You only have to do that once and DataCite will keep on updating your ORCID record every time they mint a DOI, where your ORCID iD is included in the metadata. See https://profiles.datacite.org/ and click on ORCID Auto-Update once you have a profile set up. In this way, you do not have to keep manually adding Figshare items to your ORCID account. This is especially useful when you have a lot of data!
To then sync your ORCiD to your Figshare profile, follow these steps:
Step 1: Click on Connect and enable syncing with your ORCiD
Step 2: Sign in to ORCiD
Step 3: Authorize
Step 4: Your ORCiD is now synced
If you require any assistance, please submit a support ticket.
