A-LIFE RDM FAQs¶

Overview

This is the FAQs page of the A-LIFE RDM collection.

Authors: Irene Martorelli, Brett Olivier — Last modification: 2026-08-02 — Version: 0.0.2

FAQs from A-LIFE researchers¶

Here we share common questions we get from A-LIFE researchers. We currently have a few related to Tools — hopefully they help direct you to the right documentation and sections of this collection.

Answers¶

How can I start using Yoda?¶

To use Yoda, you need to request access to a Yoda Research Storage Space. Please follow the workflow steps described in Getting Started of the Yoda documentation. If you have already been granted access, simply log in via https://portal.yoda.vu.nl.

How do I add an external user?¶

Please follow the section Inviting external users of the Manage Group Members page of the Yoda documentation.

When should I archive my data in Yoda?¶

According to Utrecht University's recommendation, it is strongly recommended to archive your data at the end of the research project or when an article is published that relies on the data as its source.

Take a look into Archiving Data in our Yoda documentation section for following the steps in archiving in the Yoda Vault.

How can I publish in Yoda?¶

By publishing in Yoda, you will get a DOI that resolves to your dataset. Please follow the instructions in How to publish your data in Yoda of the Yoda documentation.

How can I start using Research Drive?¶

To use Research Drive, you need to fill in the Request Storage Space form to get access. Once submitted, follow the next steps to log in and start using the Research Drive storage space.

How can I archive data sitting in Research Drive?¶

Research Drive is not an archiving solution — you cannot archive data here. For this reason, if you want to move and use your data for publication, we recommend transferring your data to another solution such as Yoda or Zenodo. Please follow our documentation steps for either archiving and publishing in Yoda or archiving and publishing in Zenodo, or contact your research data manager for further support.

How do I log in to Zenodo?¶

Log in at https://zenodo.org using your email, ORCID, or GitHub credentials (if linked). See Getting Started with Zenodo for more information.

Does Zenodo need a README file?¶

Good question! Adding a README file is not a requirement, but we strongly recommend it. Communities, reviewers, and anyone who reaches your dataset will expect to find one — it is the first thing people look for when exploring a data publication.

Please follow the instructions in Documenting your data — Zenodo Documentation to add one to your package.