Research data handlers converge on light-touch repository rules

Conference sees non-profits, publishers, funders and research infrastructures seek common ground

Representatives of organisations involved in research data use and management seem to have found common ground on the need for a lenient, flexible set of rules for research data repositories—digital archives of study results—after months of conflict.

A consensus appeared to emerge on 20 April at a conference of the Research Data Alliance, an international data-sharing organisation, in a session that sought to find commonality on standards for repositories by comparing parallel efforts to help researchers choose a suitable permanent home for their data.