Get an overview of the purpose and power of the UNSW Data Archive — a secure, long-term storage solution for your valuable research data. Explore how it supports your research, ensures compliance, and keeps your data safe for the future.
What is the UNSW Data Archive?
The UNSW Data Archive provides long-term data management and storage options for UNSW research staff and students. As a UNSW researcher, the Data Archive will give you free access to securely archive all your research data and share it with your team. The Data Archive is designed to help UNSW researchers comply with the UNSW Research Code of Conduct and the UNSW Procedure for Handling Research Material and Data.
The intent of the Data Archive is to support researchers to archive their research data and retrieve it when necessary. The UNSW Data Archive has been set up as the University's institutional archive store for archival purposes. As such, uploaded files cannot be deleted.
What do I need to access the Data Archive?
- An active UNSW zID and zPass. To verify your zID/zPass visit the UNSW Identity management page.
- An approved Research Data Management Plan (RDMP) (see the RDMP and Data Archive page for more information).
- Research data identified and prepared for upload into the Data Archive.
- Access levels appropriate to the tasks you wish to undertake within the Data Archive.
- Access to the UNSW Network, either on a UNSW campus or by using the UNSW VPN Service
- If you are downloading data, you need to migrate that data online before you start the download, see our guide for how to do this.
How do I access the Data Archive?
There are a three ways to access the Data Archive:
- Using the Web application with a Chrome, Firefox or Edge browser. See the Web application guide for further information.
- Using a SFTP Client. See the SFTP client guide for further information.
- Using a Command line Script. See the Command line script guide for further information.
All researchers are able to upload, download, share, locate and review their research data using the Web application (see the Web application guide for further information). The other options, for researchers with specific needs, include using a SFTP Client (see the SFTP client guide for further information), and a Command line Script (see the Command line script guide for further information).
The size of your data and frequency of data creation will influence how you interact with the Data Archive. Please use the table below to determine which method aligns with your needs:
Data size |
Number of Files |
Best solution |
|---|---|---|
Under 50 gigabytes (GB) |
Under 1000 |
Web application. |
Under 50 gigabytes (GB) |
Over 1000 |
Web application. |
Over 50 gigabytes (GB) |
|
SFTP Client. |
Regular or automated upload of data |
|
SFTP Client or Command line script. |
Core elements of the Data Archive application
Asset Finder
- Users can ingest (upload) and egest (download) data
- Browse data and metadata
- View previous versions of files (see the How do I access / view previous versions of a file? FAQ)
-
Note
Double click to open your Collections (folder) - the label/name of your Collections will correspond to the Research Data Management Plan Project ID - when in Asset Finder.
Asset Map
- Location based data display for data with geospatial metadata
- Location based data discovery for data with geospatial metadata
-
Need help
Check the FAQ for more information.
Metadata Library
- Create and update metadata document definitions with a simple graphical tool
- Define and edit metadata documents
- Add metadata (in addition to that automatically extracted when uploading) during upload, or to data already in the Data Archive.
-
Read more
See the Metadata guide for more information
Dictionaries
- Create and maintain arbitrary look-up lists (dictionaries), consisting of terms and associated definitions
- Metadata documents can refer to specific dictionaries
-
Read more
See the Metadata guide for more information
Searching the Data Archive:
Locating data inside the Data Archive is achieved in a variety of ways.
-
Read more
See the Search, filters, views, favourites page for how to locate data.