The Scholars Portal Dataverse is best repository that we have found so far for storing OLab zip files.
How to upload an OLab zip file
- Login to your OLab server. (You will need author privileges.)
- Create an Export zip file of your map – this will be saved in your Downloads folder on your laptop.
- For more information on how to create an Export zip, consult the User Guide for your OLab server.
- Place a copy of this generic ReadMe file in your Downloads folder.
- Compress this ReadMe file and your Export zip into a new zip file.
- Login to the OLab Dataverse at Scholars Portal. (You will need author privileges.)
- Create a new Dataset in the OLab Dataverse
- We suggest you use the ‘OLab virtual scenario template’ because this contains a lot of the useful metadata already
- The OLab Dataverse will tell you if you have missed any essential metadata. At a minimum you will need to add
- Title
- At least one author
- Description
- You can copy this from the Description given for the map on the OLab server
- Down at the bottom of the Dataset page, you can upload a file. Choose the new zip file that you just created, that contains the ReadMe and the Export zip file.
- You will note that the Dataverse automatically expands the zip file that you upload so that Dataverse subscribers can see both the ReadMe file and the Export zip file.
- Save your Dataset. The OLab Dataverse will then give you a citation and DOI for your Dataset.
- You can go back in and edit the metadata at this point if you wish.
- When you are happy with the metadata, publish the Dataset. (It is not visible on Scholars Portal until you do this.)
- Add the citation to your CV – this is now a citable publication.
Why use a Dataverse?
For several years, we have been trying to find a suitable repository in which to publish our maps and scenarios from OpenLabyrinth and OLab4. We have tried a number of these but have found them to be lacking in accessibility, quality of metadata, discoverability.
The Scholars Portal Dataverse has the following desirable aspects:
- There is rich metadata associated with each dataset.
- The files are stored on Canadian servers, which satisfies some grant and regulatory requirements.
- The repository has powerful search functions.
- The repository works with DataCite to provide full citations and a DOI for each dataset. This means that Datasets can be cited in your CV as a publication.
- Associated files such as a ReadMe or instructor guides can easily be associated within the Dataset.
- The Dataverse provides various tools to facilitate batch uploads. We hope to provide direct uploads from OLab4 to a Dataverse repository.