1. Visit USC Dataverse and click the “Log In” button on the top right corner.

Note: If you see your name instead of the “Log In” button, you are already logged in and may proceed to step 3.

2. Log in with your USC email address and password.

3. Click on "Add Data" and then “Add a dataset” button on the left side of the screen.

4. You have the option of uploading datasets relating to one project or creating a dataverse. A dataverse is an umbrella term for datasets belonging to multiple projects in the same category. Think of it as a main folder, where you might have multiple projects or files located. The default for just one dataset or multiple datasets related to one project is a “Dataset”

5. Next, you will be filling in the form boxes under the “Citation Metadata” section. 

6. For more information on a particular metadata field, hover your mouse over the name of that field. Some metadata fields will be autofilled with text explaining how to complete them. For example, the ‘Affiliation’ field next to the ‘Author’ section asks for your departmental affiliation. This is where you can input the research center or department with which you are affiliated. (Your BC affiliation will still appear next to the ‘Contact’ section.)

7. To upload files to your dataset, scroll to the bottom of your screen. Depending on your preference, you can drag and drop files, click on the “Select Files to Add” button, or upload files from Dropbox. If you are depositing a large number of files (greater than 100), please compress them into a ZIP or TAR file before you upload. This will allow the uploader to process the files more quickly.

Note: Dataverse imposes an upload limit of 2GB per file. Please contact us if you need to upload a file larger than 2GB.

8. Click on the “Save” button.

9. You will be redirected to your dataset as an unpublished draft. From here, you can review your submission and make any necessary edits (see “To Edit a Dataset” below).

10. The USC Libraries will review your dataset and metadata and contact you if modifications are needed. Then the dataset will be published on your behalf.

Editing a Dataset:

1. Once logged in to your USC Dataverse account, click on your name in the top right corner, then click the “My Data” link. This will redirect you to a page with all of your published and unpublished content in Dataverse.

2. Click on the title of the dataset you wish to edit.

3. Click on the “Edit Dataset” button toward the right side of the screen. This will bring up a drop-down menu with several options:

   1. “Files (Upload)” enables you to upload, delete, or restrict access to files in your dataset.

   2. “Metadata” allows you to update information about your dataset. All of these fields without an asterisk * are optional, so you may edit only those metadata fields that are relevant to your dataset.

   3. “Terms” shows the license agreement for using your dataset. By default, content in the USC Dataverse is licensed under CC0, which is a universal public domain license. (You can learn more about CC0 and alternative license agreements at Creative Commons.) Verify that the default public domain license is appropriate for your data and that your data complies with the Harvard Dataverse Terms of Use.

   4. “Permissions” allows you to grant access to a dataset or file. Each user and group is assigned a role, which grants a certain level of access. (For example, users with the “Contributor” role have permission to edit your dataset.) You can assign roles to users by clicking on the “Assign Roles to Users/Groups” button.

5. “Private URL” allows you to create a URL to your unpublished dataset for review. For more information about this, please refer to the user guide. 

6. “Thumbnails + Widgets” allows you to assign an image to your dataset. Widgets allows you to embed your dataverse or dataset into your personal or project website. It allows others to browse your datasets without having to leave your personal website. 

7. “Turbo Curator by ICPSR” allows you to use AI to help offer metadata suggestions. It is based on AI’s ChatGPT and ICPSR best practices.

8. “Delete Dataset” removes your dataset from the Dataverse. If your dataset is unpublished, you will have the option to delete it permanently. If it has already been published, only the deaccession option will be available. Deaccessioned datasets are not publicly accessible. When users attempt to retrieve a deaccessioned dataset via its DOI, they will be redirected to a tombstone record with some basic metadata but no attached files.