How do I draft and edit a dataset?

To begin, go to data.mendeley.com and click Sign In in the top right section of the page. Upon logging in, you the Mendeley Data homepage appears.

What are the options for initially drafting a dataset?

Option A: From the Mendeley Data homepage, click Create a Dataset. The New Dataset window opens, prompting you to enter a name. Then click Create Dataset.

Option B: Alternatively, also from the Mendeley Data homepage, you can click My Data, and then click the New Dataset button in the top left section of the page.

How do I add or remove contributors?

To add contributors, click the '+' in the Contributors section beneath the Title field. Then enter the email address and first and last name (required), and optionally, you may also include the Institution, ORCID iD, and details about the individual’s contribution. Finally, click Save Contributor. To remove a contributor, click on the individual’s name and then click Remove Contributor.

Note: By default, your name appears as a contributor since you created the dataset. However, you may remove yourself ONLY after at least one other contributor is added to the dataset.

How do I add metadata to my newly drafted dataset?

Once you have taken the preliminary step to create a dataset, you then must enter pertinent metadata. From the top of the new dataset page, you can edit the title.

Enter a description into the Description field.

To add data into the My files field of the dataset navigate to the section Drag files or folders here and drop off your files in that area or click Click here to upload. The latter prompts you to either upload a file from your computer by navigating to, selecting a file, and clicking Open from the Windows explorer window. Once the file upload is complete it will appear in the My files field. You can add a file or an entire folder, including zip files. For more information about file size limits refer to the section What are the maximum size and types of files that can be uploaded to Mendeley Data? in FAQ What are the requirements for datasets?

The Institution field is optional. To populate it, enter an institution name.

You are required to add at least one category in the Category field before you publish a dataset. To do so, start typing in the Category field and then you can select from the list that populates as you type. You are not able to add a custom category so choose one that is closest to describing the category you need.

Note: At this point, after having added data, you have effectively drafted your dataset and it is automatically saved into the system. If necessary, you can stop at this point and return to it later to edit or delete it. Refer to the help article How do I edit or delete a draft dataset?. Otherwise, you can continue completing the information.

Optionally, you may add details about how to reproduce the research represented in your dataset by entering these steps in the Steps to reproduce field.

You can also add additional metadata by adding details in the Date the data was collected and Nature of the data fields, respectively.

The License field defaults to ‘CC BY 4.0’ but you can change that by clicking Change and making a selection from the drop-down menu, and then clicking Change License. The All tab is displayed by default, but you can further specify the license type to be changed by selecting the Data,Software, or Hardware tab and then selecting the license type and clicking Change License.

If appropriate you can also add a Related link to your dataset by clicking the Add a related link button at the bottom of the page. A dialogue box opens, prompting you to indicate a link type by selecting the Article, Dataset, or Software radio button, entering a URL link, and making a selection from the Relationship drop-down menu. You will then click Add link. The newly added link appears in the Related Links field near the bottom of the page of your published dataset.

How do I preview a newly drafted dataset?

Once you have entered all the information into your newly created dataset, you may want to see how it will appear. To do so, click Preview at the bottom of the page, which will display how it will look once it is published.

What if I want to defer the availability of data to a later date (place a dataset 'under embargo')?

When drafting a dataset, a user may choose to defer the date at which the data becomes available to ensure it is only available at the same time as an associated article, meaning the dataset description and files are not publicly available until that date.

To place a dataset under embargo, it must be in the draft state. Click Set Embargo Date at the bottom right area of the page. The Set Embargo Date dialogue box opens, prompting you to indicate the time length of the embargo by either selecting 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year; or by setting a date using the calendar feature. Once a selection is made, click Set Embargo.