How to Reuse Data in Apollo

There are thousands of datasets in Apollo to discover and reuse in your research. If you are reusing any data from Apollo (or any other third-party data), it is important to cite the dataset itself in your research (not just the associated article) and in any publications arising from reusing this data. You also need to check the license to see if there are any restrictions on how you can use the data. Here we describe how to discover, reuse and cite data deposited into Apollo in your research.

Discover

There are thousands of datasets on Apollo waiting to be discovered! There are also a growing number of other research output types such as software/code and methods. You can browse collections or search for data of interest in Apollo by title, author, subject or by the type of data. Apollo content is also indexed on search engines such as Google, Google Scholar and Google Dataset Search, to help aid discovery by anyone anywhere.

If you are depositing research data alongside a publication, most journals ask for a Data Availability Statement (DAS) to indicate how the data underlying the article can be accessed which also helps discoverability.

Reuse

Data in Apollo is available openly to download (unless temporarily under embargo, if associated with a research article, prior to publication). All data uploaded to Apollo are given a license by the original depositor and this tells you what you can do with the data. You can find out which license is applicable under the heading ‘Rights’ on the Apollo item page; there is also a link to more information about the license and what you can do with it.

Most licenses chosen for datasets uploaded to Apollo allow you to reuse the data as long as you credit (cite) the dataset (e.g. CC BY). As there are a variety of license options to choose from on Apollo, it is important to check which one applies to the data you wish to use.

Citing data

Datasets and software should be seen as research outputs in their own right. As such, it is important to cite a ny data you reuse (not just the associated publication) when you share or publish any work in the same way as you would for journal articles. This gives credit to the original creators of the work, and increases discoverability but also helps with transparency, reproducibility and ultimately trust within research. By citing the sources of data, you can help other researchers better understand your own research and how you came to your conclusions whilst acknowledging the contribution of others that helped you get there.

How to cite datasets in Apollo

What to include in your citation may vary depending on the reference style used where you are publishing the work. A full citation should include:

• Author(s)
• Publication date
• Title
• Place of publication (e.g. Apollo – University of Cambridge Repository)
• DOI
• Version number (if appropriate)

To make citation of research outputs easier, on the Apollo item page, under the heading ‘Citation’ there is a button to ‘Copy citation’ with a drop-down menu to choose from different referencing conventions.