You are ready to deposit data if:

  • your data is in a final state and not expected to undergo revisions.
  • you have removed any private, confidential, or other legally protected information from your data.
  • you are a faculty member, staff member, or graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • you have permission to publicly distribute data from all creator(s) and/or copyright owner(s).

Published data:

  • is open to anyone in the world.
  • receives a stable identifier (DOI) for easy reference and citation.
  • is readily available for anyone to access for a minimum of 5 years.
  • is located in a stable environment that complies with many funder and publisher requirements.

Statement of Commitment

The Illinois Data Bank's mission is to centralize, preserve, and provide persistent and reliable access to the research data created by affiliates of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, such as its faculty, academic staff, and graduate students. The Research Data Service at the University Library maintains and operates the Illinois Data Bank on behalf of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. The University Library has a long history of successfully supporting the preservation of and access to Illinois research outputs. The Illinois Data Bank operates within a robust policy framework that fully describes the University's commitment to providing persistent and reliable access to research data.

Researcher Spotlight

featured researcher photo

Loren Merrill

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Illinois Natural History Survey working with T.J. Benson (Avian Ecologist, INHS) examining the influence of different land-cover types on the health and condition of shrubland birds. Prior to joining INHS, I did a one year postdoc with Jennifer Grindstaff at Oklahoma State University examining the impacts of early-life stressors on short and long-term trait expression in zebra finches. I conducted my PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara on life-history strategies and ecophysiology of blackbirds. I am an avid birder and nature photographer and am happiest when immersed in wild places.
What influenced your decision to deposit your data in the Illinois Data Bank?
By making data available to other researchers through the Illinois Data Bank we increase the potential impact of our work. Other researchers can use these data as part of reviews or syntheses, which allows the work we did to become part of a larger study, and may garner additional interest in our project. Moreover, depositing the data provides a safeguard against loss of the original data, and preserves it for future uses.

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