How do I access the RDR?

The Research Data Repository is located at https://figshare.mq.edu.au. 

There are two main elements to the data repository: the public data discovery portal, and the private researcher pages.  

Anyone can access the public discovery portal and use it to browse and download datasets published by researchers from Macquarie University.  

To log into the private researcher pages as a member of Macquarie University, click on the 'Log in' link in the top right corner of the screen and then provide your Macquarie University credentials. You will be asked to complete 2FA authentication at this point, after which you should now be logged into the repository.  

Who can login to the RDR?

All Macquarie-based research staff and students (HDRs only) should automatically have an account on the RDR and need only log in with their normal Macquarie credentials to gain access to the repository.

What is Two Factor Authentication (2FA), and how can I authenticate myself?

Two Factor Authentication, or 2FA, is a double-step login process used to access the data repository. This additional login step helps protect your account and prevents malicious access to your uploaded dataset items. 2FA authentication is mandatory for accessing the RDR. 

To set up 2FA for your account, you are required to install a 2FA authenticator app, such as Okta Verify or Google Authenticator, on your mobile phone (e.g. through the Android Play Store or Apple App Store).  If you do not access to a mobile phone, contact OneHelp support.

After you install the authenticator app, open it and follow the instructions to add the data repository to your list of accounts. Authenticator apps typically follow a similar setup procedure: 

• begin by scanning a QR code associated with your Macquarie account.  

• From then, each time you log into the data repository, it will ask you for a numerical code.  
• Open up the authenticator app to view the randomly generated code or number, and type this into the authentication of the repository to gain access. 

How can I switch my choice of 2FA authenticator app?

There are multiple 2FA authentication options that you can use in order to log into the data repository. If you have already set up a specific authenticator service, but would now like to switch to a different authenticator, for example to switch from Okta Verify to Google Authenticator, you will need to raise a OneHelp ticket.  

What is a ‘Project’ in the data repository?

The figshare platform natively supports collaboration projects; these are a key feature of Macquarie University’s RDR implementation. RDR projects let you put your uploaded datasets into context with the actual research that produced them. Research project information is synchronised from Macquarie University’s Research Management System (Pure RMS) into the RDR. In addition, any contributors on a Pure RMS project will be invited to collaborate with you within the RDR on uploading and publishing datasets.

Which Pure RMS Projects are synchronized to the RDR?

Every active, public research project which is in Pure RMS will have a collaboration project created for it in the RDR and regularly synchronized. If you are the Primary Chief Investigator for an active, public project in RMS, you will also be the owner of a collaboration project in the RDR.

How often is Pure RMS Project metadata synchronized to the RDR?

Pure RMS project metadata is auto-synchronized to the RDR in the early afternoon of each business day. Only Pure RMS projects whose metadata is has changed since the previous business day will receive new data. If you want to utilize changes to Pure RMS project metadata in the RDR, you should therefore make metadata changes to your Pure RMS project record in the morning so that they are available in the RDR in the afternoon.

What is the best way to create a new RDR project?

To best make use of Macquarie’s repository features, new RDR projects should be firstly created in Pure RMS and synchronized to the RDR. There are two ways a Pure RMS project is created:

1. If you are awarded a grant, then Pure RMS will automatically create the project on your behalf.
2. You can create a Pure RMS project.

Not all Pure RMS projects are synchronized to the RDR – refer to the above FAQ Which Pure RMS Projects are synchronized to the RDR?

My RDR project already has information pre-filled into the Description field. Where is this information coming from, and can I add to it or edit it?

The Title and Description metadata fields of your RDR project is being synchronized from its master Pure RMS project. You can make changes to both the Title and Description fields of your RDR project, but there are implications. The synchronization process treats the Title and Description fields slightly differently:

• Title field.  The Pure RMS synchronization of the Title field to the RDR project will over-write any local changes you make to the RDR Project’s Title field.
• Description field. The Pure RMS synchronization maintains a concept of above and below the line in the Description text. Any text “below the line” will be synchronized and overwritten from the Description field of the master Pure RMS project. If you want to make local changes to the Description text of your synchronized RDR project which will not get overwritten, ensure you make these changes “above the line”.

Publishing a dataset

For detailed instructions on how to prepare and upload a research dataset to the repository, please follow the Publishing a dataset guidelines.

What are the publishing review criteria?

When you press the Publish button on a dataset or collection item, your item will be submitted to an institutional review team who will review it prior to a DOI is generated. Review guidelines include: 

• Data ownership is established and the data uploader is licensed to publish the data.
• Whether the uploaded data and metadata conform with the research project’s data management plan (DMP). (Reviewers will need access to the project’s DMP.) 
• If the data is to be embargoed, whether the embargo period is in line with the DMP. 
• Completion status of the data’s metadata, including  enhanced metadata. 
• Whether the Quality Assurance (Q/A) reviews have been completed and recorded.
• Whether the FAIR self-assessment rating of the data has been completed. (Datasets with a low rating may require some remediation before they are published) 
• The degree to which the data is described.  
• The degree to which the provenance of the data has been established. 
• Whether the data supports reproducible research. For example: there is clear distinction between raw data and data that has been cleansed and processed and what processing rules were applied, by what software, and in what order it was applied. 

What is FAIR data?

FAIR is best described by the following references:

• https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/
• https://ardc.edu.au/resources/working-with-data/fair-data/
• https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata201618

What is FAIR Self Assessment?

FAIR self assessment is an initiative of the ARDC. ARDC have provided researchers and organisations with a web-based tool to self-assess the ‘FAIRness’ of their research data.

My dataset is not coming out of embargo on the date that I set. Why not?

The RDR is a managed platform as a service which operates in UTC time; this time zone applies to embargo periods. As AEST is UTC+10:00, your dataset may not complete its embargo period until the following day.