FAQ

Yes, you can. Please refer to the guide Collaborating in Yoda for instructions on how to do so.

Yoda enables you to store all kinds of digital source files, including text files, images, videos, data files, programming scripts, etc. Read more in the Storing your data guide.

Yes, Yoda is safe to use for all types of privacy-sensitive data, of course provided that you yourself also act in accordance with privacy and security regulations. You can read more about how to handle privacy-sensitive data in the Data Privacy Handbook.

Yoda is not just another storage solution; it is an integrated data management system where you can store, share, manage, archive and publish research data, all in one place. In Yoda, there is no need to transfer data from your working environment (e.g., your laptop) to another server or data repository after your project has ended: with a few clicks, you can archive and publish all your work with machine-readable metadata.  You can find more information about Yoda on this page about Yoda's features.

After archiving your data package in Yoda, you can then publish it to make it FAIR:

• Findable (F): when you publish your data package, the metadata – and in some cases the data – will be published and receive a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). 
• Accessible (A): you can publish the archived data package either openly, with restrictions, or under closed access. 
• Interoperable (I): before publication, a data manager will review the data package. They will encourage you to add documentation and to structure and describe the data package before it is published (see also the FAIR Cheatsheets). 
• Reusable (R): you can specify the conditions under which others can reuse the data package through a user license.

You can read more about publishing in Yoda in the Publishing your data guide.
 

You can contact your data manager to create a folder called a “research group” in Yoda. Once you have been added to the research group, you can log into your specific instance of Yoda.

There are multiple ways to access data stored in Yoda: 

• Via the Yoda web portal;
• Via the Yoda Network Disk;
• Via iBridges;
• Via a command-line tool, such as GoCommands or the native iCommands.

You can read more about these methods and their pros and cons in the Accessing Yoda guide.

There is no single connection speed when you work with data in Yoda. Instead, the connection speed depends on:

1. the way you connect to Yoda (e.g., the web browser, a client or a command line tool);
2. the speed and stability of your internet connection.

If you want to speed up the connection, we recommend using a wired internet connection and iBridges, iCommands or GoCommands to up- and download data in Yoda.

You access Yoda using an email address. Hence, if your email address is deactivated, you will not be able to access Yoda anymore. To prevent this from happening, you can contact your group manager to add you to the research group using another, active email address.

We recommend making sure that you are also legally allowed to access the data after you leave your institute: if you start working at another institution, providing you access with your new institutional email address may count as a “data transfer” for which an agreement may need to be in place.

If you work with large datasets, we recommend using iBridges or native iCommands to up- and download data in an automated fashion. A fast and stable internet connection will also make a large difference in the up- and download speed, as well as up- and downloads scheduled outside of office hours. The latter option will likely be faster because there won’t be many users “querying” the Yoda database simultaneously.

No, you can upload data of any size to Yoda. However, we ask all users to use the Yoda resources responsibly. This is important to keep costs low and to limit the environmental impact of data storage. Moreover, consider that Yoda is used by hundreds of scientists at a time. Therefore, for large datasets (for example, if you need to upload more than 5 TB per day or more than 100 TB per week), we encourage you to contact your data manager first, so that sufficient storage hardware can be arranged and guaranteed for everyone using Yoda.

Yes. You can read more on how to do this in the guide about Restoring data.

Before you submit your data package to the Vault for archiving, you will need to complete a metadata form to accompany your data package. When you submit your data package to the Vault, a data manager will review it and may ask you to make some final changes. Upon acceptance, a read-only copy of the data package is made from the Research environment to the Vault environment in Yoda for long-term storage. The original data package in the Research environment will also still remain active, unless purposefully removed. You can read more about archiving here.

When you submit your archived data package for publication, a data manager will review it. Upon acceptance for publication, a public landing page will be created for the data package with all the Yoda metadata and a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). If the Access level in the metadata form was set to “Open - freely retrievable”, the files in the data package will be publicly available for download from this landing page.

Yes, you can. You can read more on how to do so on the page about Custom metadata schemas.

You can completely and correctly fill out the metadata form, structure and name your files in an understandable and machine-readable way, use open file formats where possible, etc. You can read more about this in the guide Documenting your data in Yoda and in the FAIR data cheatsheet.

Both un-archiving and un-publishing cannot be done by regular users. To remove a dataset from the Vault, please contact your data manager. Un-publishing a dataset is technically possible, but only done in very rare cases (e.g., if there is something wrong with your data package). In general, you should assume that once a dataset is published, it will remain published and part of the academic record.

Unfortunately, this is not possible in Yoda at the moment. If you really need this functionality, you can choose another data repository that does offer this possibility.

Unfortunately, this is not possible in Yoda now. If you really need this functionality, you can choose another data repository that does offer this possibility.

Please note that although you cannot reserve a specific DOI, once you publish a data package that package will be assigned a DOI automatically by Yoda.

If you do not intend on actively using the data package in the Research area anymore after archiving it in the Vault, we recommend deleting the active copy from the Research area. This can save a lot of duplicate storage space and therefore costs for data storage and lower the environmental impact. Remember that it is always possible to copy the Vaulted data back into the Research area if necessary.

No, in the current state this is not possible. If the data package was published Open Access, this will provide no issues. However, if it is a Closed- of Restricted Access data package, then you will need to ask for a copy of the data being sent to you by the relevant data manager.

Changes to the Yoda metadata can be made after publication by the data manager without altering the DOI. However, it is not possible to change the data package itself after publication.

A DOI is a persistent identifier which always refers to a specific digital object at a specific time. Therefore, if the digital object (the dataset) changes, a new DOI will be registered. Once the new version of a dataset is published, Yoda can link the DOI of the new version to its earlier versions. This new DOI will have the same base DOI as earlier versions of the published dataset.