DataDock: An Open Source Data Hub for Research

TL;DR

DataDock is an open-source, customizable data sharing platform designed for research teams, enabling cost-effective file transfer, review, and commenting without restrictions on data type or size.

Contribution

It introduces a flexible, open-source data hub tailored for research needs, addressing limitations of existing file-sharing services by supporting review and customization.

Findings

Supports unlimited data types and sizes.

Facilitates collaborative review and commenting.

Operates on research lab servers without extra costs.

Abstract

Every research project necessitates data, often requiring sharing and collaborative review within a team. However, there is a dearth of good open-source data sharing and reviewing services. Existing file-sharing services generally mandate paid subscriptions for increased storage or additional members, diverting research funds from addressing the core research problem that a lab is attempting to work on. Moreover, these services often lack direct features for reviewing or commenting on data quality, a vital part of ensuring high quality data generation. In response to these challenges, we present DataDock, a specialized file transfer service crafted for specifically for researchers. DataDock operates as an application hosted on a research lab server. This design ensures that, with access to a machine and an internet connection, teams can facilitate file storage, transfer, and review without incurring extra costs. Being an open-source project, DataDock can be customized to suit the unique requirements of any research team, and is able to evolve to meet the needs of the research community. We also note that there are no limitations with respect to what data can be shared, downloaded, or commented on. As DataDock is agnostic to the file type, it can be used in any field from bioinformatics to particle physics; as long as it can be stored in a file, it can be shared. We open source the code here: https://github.com/lxaw/DataDock