Virginia Tech Data Repository: Deposit Agreement

Virginia Tech faculty, staff and graduate students are granted as Depositors the ability to deposit, modify and request publication of research data in the Virginia Tech Data Repository. Other members of the Virginia Tech community with active Virginia Tech User IDs (e.g. undergraduates) can contact the Virginia Tech Data Repository Administrators to request this ability. The Virginia Tech Data Repository Administrators reserve the right to rescind these abilities to any Virginia Tech personnel at any time, including for violation of this Deposit Agreement or the Terms of Use.

Research data is defined the same as “Research Data Results and Related Materials” in the VT Policy on Ownership and Control of Research Results, excluding results or materials that can exist only in physical (not digital) forms.

In depositing (uploading) data into the Virginia Tech Data Repository, you, the Depositor, agree that:

1. You have the permission of the original data creator (i.e. the researcher responsible for creation or collection of the dataset) to request publication and perform other actions on the data hosted on the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform.
2. Depositing the data and/or publishing it does not violate law or ethics.  This includes but is not limited to
   1. data for which you do not have rights to upload or disseminate. This includes
      1. data containing information under copyright for which you have not received permission from the copyright holder,
      2. data of a proprietary nature for which the Depositor does not have the rights to disseminate.
      3. violation of federal, state and local laws (e.g. HIPAA, FERPA, ITAR, Export Control).  These include deposit of data containing
         1. information that could lead to the direct or indirect identification of human participants in research projects,
         2. information that could lead to the direct or indirect identification of students,
         3. classified or sensitive information relevant to national security, and
         4. violation of institutional policies, including
            1. the VT Policy on Ownership and Control of Research Results,
            2. the VT Policy on Intellectual Property, and
            3. the VT Standard for High Risk Digital Data Protection.
      4. the upload of de-identified human participants data for which consent and IRB approval was not obtained. The Virginia Tech Data Repository Administrators are not responsible for conducting disclosure analysis on deposited de-identified human participants data.

3. You will provide the required metadata and documentation before data is Published. Data will be reviewed upon publication request and will not be Published unless it meets these requirements.

4. Your data can be made openly accessible, meaning that users of the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform may download and reuse your Published data without restriction.

Data Depositors can contact the Virginia Tech Data Repository Administrators with any issues or errors they encounter in interactions with the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform, including uploading, organizing, and describing data.

It is the responsibility of the Virginia Tech Data Repository Administrators to:

1. Maintain the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform, including the provision of access and visibility to deposited data as chosen by the Depositor.
2. Maintain the privacy of users of this data and the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform as per Virginia Tech Privacy Policy.
3. Ensure that the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform is working as intended.
4. Communicate with Depositors about procedures and policies surrounding the Virginia Tech Data Repository.
5. Provide Depositors with Curation Services associated with the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform, including research data deposit, publication and documentation.
6. Maintain the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform, including the provision of access to and integrity of Published Data. Access to and integrity of Published Data on the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform is expected to be maintained for the foreseeable future but will be maintained at least five years after publication.

The Virginia Tech Data Repository administrators have the right to:

1. Enhance the metadata of Published Data to improve its discoverability (e.g. adding links to associated publications).
2. Make information about Published Data widely available to improve the discoverability of Published Data (e.g. make metadata available to search engines and discovery interfaces).
3. As necessary, migrate or transform Published data to maintain its accessibility on the Virginia Tech Data Repository platform.

The Virginia Tech Data Repository Administrators reserve the right to remove any Deposited or Published data, including data that is in violation of Virginia Tech policy or in violation of federal, state, or local laws. The Virginia Tech Data Repository Administrators are not required to make contact with the Depositor prior to data removal but will make an effort to do so.

In keeping with the Purpose of the Virginia Tech Data Repository, the Virginia Tech Data Repository Administrators reserve the right to remove Deposited but un-Published data 

1. for which we can not determine a contact, or
2. that was deposited over one year ago and remains unpublished.

Last modified 1 April 2024