Primary data and supporting images must be available for at least six years after publication. If data and images are used in a subsequent publication, or cited in a subsequent publication or grant application by faculty, then data must be available for an additional six years.

• For funded research, close-out is whichever comes first of these two events:
  • The end of the grant or contract agreement OR
  • 60 days prior to faculty member leaving institution 

Data should be deposited into WIDRR upon any of these three research milestones:

• within six months of publication
• wthin three years of final project closeout of all funded or unfunded research (i.e. your grant ended)
• 60 days prior to faculty member leaving position at Weill Cornell Medicine

Faculty must enter into the WCM Institutional Data Repository for Research (WIDRR), at minimum, the location of their datasets (including raw data), and provide a methods file sufficient for replication and audit of the research. 

In addition, faculty should:

• Include a pointer link to any datasets that are in a WCM-designated external respository. A list of accepted repositories can be found here: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/NIHbmic/domain_specific_repositories.html. If your repository is absent from this list, please contact the Library.
• Associate a dataset to a milestone(s) and a project.
• Provide a methods file describing all the steps of your analysis starting from the raw data input file up to the published data output file. Faculty should specify all the software, parameters, and code used in the methods file. Intermediate experiments and data that are not necessary for replication of the research do not need to be preserved. 

Examples of what types of data to provide:

Basic and translational science

Section 1.38 details the responsibilities of WCM faculty regarding collection and retention of research data and should be read carefully by WCM researchers. Your main responsibilities include:

• Data management plan: WCM faculty must create, abide by, and fund a data management plan that specifies where they will deposit data at the close-out of research. 
• What is close-out of research? For funded research, close-out is whichever comes first of these two events:
• The end of the grant or contract agreement OR
• 60 days prior to faculty member leaving institution 

• Data deposit: Faculty must enter required metadata and method description into the WCM Institutional Data Repository for Research (WIDRR). Data itself necessary for research replication and audit can be deposited into WIDRR, or in an accepted national repository with instructions for access deposted into WIDRR.
• When does deposit need to occur? After publication or within three years after final project closeout of all funded or unfunded research.
• How long does data need to be retained? Primary data and supporting images must be available for at least six years after publication. If data and images are used in subsequent publication, or if the original publication is cited in another publication or grant application by the same faculty member(s), they must be available for an additional six years from the date of the most recent citation.

• This policy defines the shared responsibilities of Cornell University and Weill Cornell University together with Cornell researchers in collecting, retaining, securing, accessing, publishing, and sharing research data.

• The policy’s main stipulation is that research data must be preserved in sufficient detail for an adequate period of time to comply with sponsor requirements, federal, state, and local regulations, and inquiries involving the research. This allows the University to respond to any questions about accuracy, authenticity, primacy, and compliance with laws and regulations governing the research. 

Anyone at Cornell University, WCM, or CornellTech who are involved in the design, conduct, or reporting of research at Cornell University.

These policies apply to the Cornell community based out of Ithaca, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Cornell Tech.