Opening Your Data

Here are the steps to making and keeping data open.

1. Select the data to open

2. Consider intellectual property rights in the data

3. Apply an open license that addresses these rights

4. Select an open data repository

5. Publish the data (make it as available as possible)

6. Publicize the data (make it as discoverable as possible)

7. Engage with others around your data

When you're choosing an open data repository, think about how open your data will really be. Just because data is openly available does not mean it is easily findable or accessible. Here's a checklist to keep in mind when you're evaluating data repositories:

• Is the repository easy to find?

• Does the repository have an intuitive user interface?

• Does the repository make accessing and reusing the data as simple as possible?

• Could screen readers navigate the repository?

• Could nonexperts navigate the repository?

• Is the format the data is published in easily downloadable and editable with basic tools?

• Is the format the data is published in machine readable?

• Would you find it difficult to publish data to the repository?

• Does the repository assign a persistent identifier to data?

• Is the repository a certified trustworthy data repository?