Uploading Data and Models

This tutorial describes how to upload any data type or model to HydroShare. 

What is a Resource?

All data and models uploaded to HydroShare become part of a “resource”. HydroShare uses the term “resource” to describe the data, models and their associated metadata as one single unit of digital content­. Other websites may use the terms, “package”, “item”, “data” as synonymous to resource. A resource provides the ability to group together multiple files of different types in one location. Read about this here.

Organize the data and models before uploading

Before uploading data and models to HydroShare, it is important to organize them effectively. Most efforts generate multiple files with complexity that requires forethought toward organization. Consider how potential end-users will want to interact with the content and what structure will best facilitate access, interpretation, and reuse. For instance, for a single research effort with 50 different data files that are the same format, you may want to separate these data files based on types of data that were collected/analyzed and/or parse the data by date ranges. See the Guide for Data Authors and Publishers for more guidance. 

Create a Resource

To upload data to HydroShare, you must sign into your account. (Create an account here.) In the contents section you can upload files of various different content types, and you can add web content that links to external web resources.

  1. Go to https://www.hydroshare.org/

  2. Sign in to your HydroShare user account

  3. Click on the Create button in the top right navigation menu.

A blue button that says "create", a profile icon in the shape of a head, and notification icon in the shape of a bell.

  1. Select Resource from the dropdown. (See here for information on model content.)

Screencapture from Hydroshare.org showing resource creation options that can be selected. In a dropdown menu from the create button there are 3 options, Resource, collection, and wen app connector.

  1. Provide a title for the resource and click Create. 

  2. You will be directed to the landing page for your new resource to add files and fill out metadata. See here for details on metadata to describe the resource. Metadata is essential to your resource. At minimum you must add a descriptive title, an abstract that describes the contents of the resource, and one keyword to make a resource public or discoverable.

  3. In the Content section of the page, add files from your computer by dragging and dropping or by clicking the link at the bottom of the contents box to browse your computer. 

  4. To Add Web Content select the icon, pictured below to add a link to an external web resource. This function allows users to store only metadata on hydroshare while data is stored elsewhere. 

  5. Organize files into folders as needed, with descriptive names that delineate data as a user may want to navigate it. 

Screencapture from Hydroshare.org of the content addition portal on the resource landing page. A blue header says "Content", above a box to drag and drop files into. There are two word bubble style labels indiacting the New folder Icon and the Add Web content icon, which are on the top toolbar of the content box.