This page provides an overview of the Helix research data repository, its purpose, benefits, and recommendations for additional guidance and support.
Helix is currently in a Beta phase. This means that while your data will be safe and permanently stored, you may encounter some issues. If you encounter any errors or unexpected behaviour or you just have general feedback about the system please email rdm-enquiries@imperial.ac.uk
What is Helix?
Helix is the institutional research data repository for Imperial College London. It aims to collect, preserve, and provide access to research data generated by research staff and students affiliated with the university when no suitable domain- or discipline-specific repository is available.
By making the university’s research data findable and accessible, Helix aligns with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and reinforces the university’s commitment to fostering an open research culture and transparency, reproducibility, and integrity. It also affirms the university’s commitment to the principle that research data should be ‘as open as possible and as closed as necessary.’
Why should I use Helix?
The benefits of depositing your data with Helix include:
- Guarantees long-term preservation of data: Your data will be preserved for at least ten years, reducing your responsibility for long-term storage.
- Makes data sharing easier: You won’t need to respond to individual requests; you can simply direct users to your dataset in Helix by including your dataset’s DOI in your paper’s data access statement.
- Increases visibility and impact: Datasets deposited with Helix are given a permanent metadata record and assigned a persistent identifier (DOI), making your data discoverable and citable like other research outputs.
- Facilitates data sharing and reuse: Sharing data via Helix enables it to be used in future research, which can lead to increased citations and new collaborations.
- Enables compliance with data management and sharing policies: Depositing data helps you comply with institutional, funder, and publisher policies. These policies expect you to make data supporting published findings and/or with potential for reuse in future research widely available with minimal restrictions.
How do I deposit?
You can access the following resources to prepare and deposit your data:
All depositors will be required to acknowledge that they have read and agreed to the terms and conditions of the Data Deposit Agreement.
The current version of Helix does not support managed access to sensitive data. Depositors have the option to apply a temporary embargo if needed; however, all datasets should be suitable for public sharing under an open license such as CC0 or CC-BY (see our web page Licensing your data for more information).
Helix Policies
- Helix Collections Development Policy
- Helix Submission Policy
- Helix Preservation Policy
- Helix Takedown Policy
Contact information
For help with depositing data or any other queries about using Helix, please email rdm-enquiries@imperial.ac.uk
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know if Helix is the right place for my data?
- Who can deposit data with Helix?
- Does it cost anything to deposit data?
- What types of content are eligible for deposit?
- My data files contain personally identifiable information. Can I upload my files to Helix?
- How much data can I deposit?
- What file formats are supported?
- Can I control who can access my data?
- Which license should I choose for my data?
- What happens after I submit my data for publication?
- Can I modify data files after they are published?
- Can I remove data files after they are published?
- How do I request that something is removed from the repository?
- I've published my data elsewhere. Do I still need to upload it to Helix?
Helix is available for research staff and students affiliated with Imperial College London, including Emeritus Professors, Honorary Staff, and Visiting Staff.
Helix is not available for undergraduate or taught master’s students.
Depositing with Helix is free of charge.
To be eligible for deposit, the data must have been collected or generated during research involving research staff and students affiliated with Imperial College London. The dataset must be final, ready for publication*, and suitable for sharing.
Submissions should include at least one research data file. Depositors are encouraged to upload additional supporting documentation to make it easier for others to understand and reuse their data. If the dataset requires detailed description -such as definitions of column headings and row labels in tabular data - we recommend uploading a README.txt file and/or data dictionary. Other examples of supporting documentation include laboratory notebooks, protocols, and questionnaires.
If your data was collected from human participants, you must include the blank consent form and participant information sheet.
Other research outputs such as preprints, articles, conference papers, and book chapters should be uploaded into Spiral.
*Depositors may apply a temporary embargo to a dataset; however, once the embargo period ends, the dataset will become publicly available.
Datasets that contain personally identifiable information or are subject to data protection legislation are not suitable for deposit with Helix. Datasets must be anonymised and accompanied by evidence that consent for sharing was obtained from participants.
The repository currently supports a maximum of up to 3.5 GB per file, up to 10 GB per dataset, and up to 100 files per submission. If your files are larger than 3.5 GB, please contact rdm-enquiries@imperial.ac.uk.
All file formats are accepted; however, we recommend using open or widely supported formats whenever possible to maximise data reusability and long-term sustainability.
If your dataset includes files in proprietary or non-standard formats, we recommend converting them to open or widely supported formats, provided this can be done without losing important information. Where possible, upload both the original files and the converted versions.
For guidance on recommended formats for data sharing, reuse, and preservation, see: UK Data Service recommended file formats.
Include details of any software required to access the files, along with other relevant information, in the public metadata record and/or supporting documentation (e.g., a README.txt file).
The current version of Helix does not support managed access to sensitive data. Depositors should make their data as open as possible, with minimal restrictions. However, they may apply an embargo if there is a valid reason to temporarily restrict access to the data, e.g., awaiting a patent application, delayed publication of results, or honoring commercial agreements.
During the embargo period, the metadata record will be publicly available, but access to the files will be restricted until the embargo period has expired.
Once the embargo period has ended, data will be made freely available.
Best practice is to choose an open license for your data. We recommend either CC0 or CC-BY. More information is available on our webpage: Licensing your data.
Once a dataset is submitted for review, our team will check the submission to confirm that metadata is complete, accurate, and aligned with repository policies.
Depositors will be contacted if clarification or additional information is necessary to support the curation or publication process. The DOI will remain private until the dataset goes live.
Once published, files cannot be modified. Any changes will result in a new version being created.
You will not be able to remove data files after they have been published. If you need to remove a file, e.g., because it contains errors or was published by mistake, email rdm-enquiries@imperial.ac.uk.
Files may not normally be removed from the repository, but staff will consider removing any material on receipt of a valid complaint, e.g., infringement of copyright or intellectual property rights, plagiarism, data protection, or other legal issues.
Unless there is good reason to permanently delete a dataset, withdrawn datasets will not be deleted but removed from public view. The metadata record and DOI will continue to be available, and the DOI will direct to a ‘tombstone’ page which will display the reason why the item was withdrawn.
The complaint procedure is detailed in the Takedown Policy.
If your dataset has already been published in another repository, you do not need to upload it to Helix. However, we encourage researchers to provide details about datasets published elsewhere. Currently, Helix does not support metadata-only records. If your data is hosted in another repository, please either create a record for the dataset in Spiral or email the DOI (or other unique identifier) to rdm-enquiries@imperial.ac.uk, and we will create a record on your behalf.