All University of Canterbury staff are able to log into https://figshare.canterbury.ac.nz and have an account automatically created for them. Students need to contact the Figshare Administrators to have their data uploaded.
There are several ways to upload your data, depending on the size:
1. Through My data where you can drag and drop files of up to 20GB into an item.
2. Using our FTP Uploader or the Figshare API, especially when working with large file/s — most web browsers can cope with ~5GB single file uploads.
If these options do not meet your data needs, please contact Canterbury's Figshare Administrator
The process for uploading through My data is documented below.
1. Select the +Create a new item button from the top left (or just drag and drop your file into the browser). If you are uploading a big file size then you can use our desktop uploader, please see 'How to use the desktop uploader' at the bottom of the page.
2. Insert a Title. For information on how best to complete the fields for maximum exposure of your data, see our how-to guide here. Tips on how to fill out each of the fields can also be viewed by clicking the 'i' icon to the right of each field. Any field with a green asterisk is a required field.
3. Select the Item type from the drop-down menu. We accept any file type and preview over 1,200 file extensions in the browser.
4. Add Authors. You can rearrange the order in which the authors appear and remove yourself as an author if you are uploading on behalf of someone. You can also search by entering the email address or ORCID (if the author has synced their ORCID to their Figshare account) of the author you want to add. To add an author who doesn’t have a Figshare account, select Add author details and enter their name, email address (optional), and ORCID (optional).
5. Select a Category. These are taken from the Fields of Research classification system. You can choose more than one and either select from the drop-down menu or search for your subject area. If you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, we recommend finding the best option and getting more specific in the Keywords section.
6. Add Keyword(s). These should be more specific than the category and help others find your research. Add as many keywords as you want - just hit enter after each keyword. Figshare remembers ones you’ve entered previously and will suggest keywords based on keywords that have been added to the database previously.
7. Write a Description. This should include any relevant information that pertains to your research - this might include information about the methodology, approval for data collection, or legal or ethical requirements. Be as descriptive as you can! You can also paste HTML into this field.
8. Add Funding information related to your data. When typing in your funder information, Figshare will search the Dimensions database for your funder and hyperlink to the Dimensions page bridging the connection between your research outputs and the funder. To add funding information that doesn’t appear in Dimensions, just type the funder information into the field and don’t select anything from the drop-down menu. Once you’ve published the item, you can click on the Funding information to see more information.
9. Add linkages to other research objects using Related Materials and provide information on the relation types. Figshare uses DataCite's standard relation types. Common relation types are IsSupplementTo and IsReferencedBy. Both of those relation types are interpreted as a citation for the dataset in DataCite's event data. For example, to add the DOI for a paper that uses the dataset, add the title of the paper in the title field, add the paper's DOI, select DOI from the identifier type list, and choose IsSupplementTo as the relation type. If you want to link to a related dataset or a Figshare Collection, use the IsPartOf relation type. Contact the Canterbury Figshare Administrator if you are uploading material relating to a thesis, and you don't have a link to the thesis yet.
10. Select a License. This will determine how others can reuse your data.
11. Optionally add an embargo, create a private link (for anonymous sharing, useful in peer review), or reserve a DOI (to put in a manuscript before publication).
12. Search for and add the Department(s), College and/or Research Group the research is related to at the University Canterbury. If your department or research group are not present, contact the Canterbury Figshare Administrator
13. Edit the timeline - most users can only edit the 'Online publication date'. The year from this date is used in the formatted citation on the public item page.
14. Optionally add a custom thumbnail. This is an image that will be displayed in search results. The image is not included with the files you describe with metadata - it is purely cosmetic and a way to make your research stand out.
15. Click Publish Item (or Submit for review if your institution enabled the review workflow). Doing so, you’ll be prompted to check the license you’ve assigned and the terms of use. If your institution has review turned on, you will be prompted that your item will be sent for review before it’s made publicly available. Make sure everything you have submitted is accurate - once it’s published, it’s permanently available.
By clicking submit for review, you are agreeing to making this item public, permanently available and agreeing to the University of Canterbury's policies, ethics requirements, contracts, and grant conditions.
