Ontario Tech University has compiled a list of assets and resources from across the university that support our Institutional Research Data Management Strategy.

Data Management Plans (DMPs)

DMP Assistant

The DMP Assistant is a national, online data management planning tool developed by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada to assist researchers in the creation of DMPs. It is freely accessible to all Ontario Tech researchers - simply select Ontario Tech University as your institution when registering.

DMP Tool

The DMP Tool is used for creating data management plans that are compliant with the requirements of funding agencies. The tool also includes many public DMPs in a variety of languages that researchers can review.

Seeking more information on Data Management Plans? Visit our DMP webpage for further resources.

Data Repositories - Library

Internal Resources:

eScholar: Institutional Repository

A digital repository that stores, preserves and disseminates digital copies of the research and scholarly output of the university. These may include monographs, pre- and post-prints of academic journals, theses and dissertations, reports/working papers and conference proceedings, as well as media.

Borealis Data Repository

A free and secure data repository that supports the deposit and sharing of Ontario Tech University research data. Files are held on Canadian servers. As a researcher, you can choose to make the content you upload available to the public, to specific individuals or collaborators, or to keep it locked.  Metadata describing the data in Borealis is indexed. If you deposit your data into Borealis, it is indexed in FRDR automatically.

Ontario Library Research Cloud

Secure long-term storage and preservation of digital content such as archival data, static websites, instructional videos, and learning modules. The following universities are some of the OLRC partners: Carleton, Guelph, Laurier, McMaster, Ontario Tech, Ottawa, Queen’s, Toronto Metropolitan, Toronto, Waterloo, Windsor, York. The Ontario Tech Library team has an instance with a current maximum of 4TB, of which 1TB is being used to backup archival holdings. Additional storage costs are $276/year per 1TB, $2604/year per 10TB and $12272/year per 50TB.

External Resources:

Federated Research Data Repository

FRDR can be utilised to both find data and to deposit data. You can search FRDR to find research datasets originating from researchers affiliated with Canadian institutions. Any researcher affiliated with a Canadian institution can deposit data into FRDR. The platform can efficiently process datasets of any size and preservation processing is done automatically.

RE3DATA

A global registry of research data repositories that covers research data repositories from different academic disciplines. It includes repositories that enable the permanent storage of and access to data sets to researchers, funding bodies, publishers and scholarly institutions. re3data.org promotes a culture of sharing, increased access and better visibility of research data. It is sorted by subject area, so it can be a useful tool for researchers who store data in this manner and a great source for subject-specific data. It is an international website.

IC/ES Data Repository

The IC/ES Data Repository consists of record-level, coded and linkable health data sets. It encompasses much of the publicly funded administrative health services records for the Ontario population eligible for universal health coverage since 1986 and is capable of integrating research-specific data, registries and surveys. Currently, the repository includes health service records for as many as 13 million people.

Information Technology (IT) Data Systems

The Information Technology Services team at Ontario Tech has developed a Research Support portal to assist researchers in identifying the best data storage, collaboration and data security options for their research data. For assistance, contact IT Research Support directly.

Cloud Storage Options:

Researchers can work with IT Collaboration Services and investigate cloud storage solutions such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, which provide a cost-effective way to store and share data.

Workspace for Information Sharing and Collaboration (WISC/Microsoft SharePoint)

 WISC is Ontario Tech's cloud-based internal SharePoint site that can be utilised for document storage, collaboration and more.

Google Drive

This is utilised for storing files that are specific to an individual. Storage is available as follows: 15GB Employees, 5GB Students, 1GB Alumni and additional storage available upon request and approval. Files are encrypted at rest with a unique AES 256 key. TLS encryption for data in transit. This is recommended for personal files only and should not be used for sensitive data storage.

Microsoft OneDrive 

Microsoft OneDrive has an automatic backup of important files on your device to prevent data loss. Base storage is 1TB and it can be increased to 5TB for free. In some instances, you may increase to 25TB for free (requires ticket to Microsoft current rates would apply). It is not intended for sharing files and is not recommended to store sensitive data.

Other Specifications:
File Size - 250GB max file size. 20GB max file size within a zip. 400-character max file path + file name. Encryption: Files encrypted at rest with a unique AES 256 key. TLS encryption for data in transit. Microsoft Teams, an online chat portal, can be used for project collaboration with internal and external users. The project lifecycle has end-of-life single document real-time collaboration.

ORION

ORION provides high-speed, fibre-optic network services to support research, education and innovation. Note: Orion does not provide Cloud options or collaboration to the university.

Other IT Services:

SynaMan: Sharing of confidential data with external users. SynaMan is an ideal remote file transfer/sharing solution for individuals. This is an effective way to transfer files of any type and size quickly and easily to any machine running various operating systems. It does not have storage available and there is no cost to use it. SynaMan is best used for confidential data or large file sizes. It can be used by anyone at Ontario Tech. 

Collaboration Tools

Researchers can access collaboration tools like Google Workspace or Microsoft Teams, which provide real-time document editing, video conferencing and team messaging capabilities.

Remote Access

IT Services can assist in providing remote access solutions, such as virtual private network (VPN) access, in allowing researchers to securely access the university's IT resources from remote locations.

Grant or Research Application Assistance

IT Resources works closely with Ontario Tech Grant Officers and Researchers. We help with IT costs around hardware and software required to conduct research. An example would be providing IT management oversight to complete IT needs for grants and CFI applications.

Management of IT Assets

Any IT asset procured through IT will be asset-tagged and supported by the ITS Team. Anything outside of this process cannot be supported and will only receive best-effort support. Unfortunately, with so much technology available in the marketplace, it is impossible to have the technical knowledge to support it all. All IT-approved technology also meets a standard and generally lasts longer than consumer-based technology.  

High Performance Computing (HPC)

Digital Research Alliance of Canada

The Digital Research Alliance of Canada supports Canadian researchers through their mandate to advance Canada's position as a leader in the knowledge economy on the international stage. The Alliance works with various partners to develop resources to assist with data management planning, access, preservation and discovery.

Compute Canada

At a national level, the Digital Research Alliance of Canada coordinates the support of
advanced computing (ARC), research data management (RDM) and research software. Ontario
Tech is an active member of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada and utilises their services.

Compute Ontario

Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) is the ecosystem of compute and data storage, high-speed networks,
experts and software that powers artificial intelligence, advanced research and high-tech industry. DRI-based
research is being applied in every field, from the design of next-generation materials and cancer treatments to the creation, curation and preservation of film and media. 

HPC4Health

HPC4Health is a consortium of health providers who are working together to build the next-generation of
compute engine for clinical research.

Queen's CAC

The Centre for Advanced Computing at Queen’s University specializes in secure, advanced computing
resources and support for academic and medical researchers. This is a paid option available to researchers for compute services.

Check out their pricing and available workshops. Contact: cac.help@queensu.ca 

SciNET

SciNET is free to researchers with high-performance computing services only. The available resources are limited and there is limited time for the systems. They have a yearly resource grant if a researcher requires additional resources. Researchers can sign up for SciNET and view the introductory video for further information.

Contact: support@scinet.utoronto.ca 

SHARCNET

This is free to researchers with high-performance computing services only with temporary storage limits for a certain size and time period. Researchers must remove their results prior to the time expiring. There is training available and also a video for new users.

Contact: Greg Lewis 

Questions?

Contact us at research@ontariotechu.ca or connect with the Library or IT Services directly.