Stowers Original Data Repository

Supporting the scientific ideals of transparency and openness, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research makes the data underlying its scientific publications freely accessible to the scientific community. Access to original, unprocessed data allows other scientists to validate and extend findings made by Stowers researchers.

At the time of publication, the Stowers Institute requires its researchers to deposit original data files in the Stowers Original Data Repository (Stowers ODR) or other qualified repositories maintained by third parties.

• When required by a publisher’s data retention and archiving policy, original data files are deposited in a repository in compliance with the publisher’s policy.
• All other original data files underlying papers first submitted for publication after November 1, 2011, are required to be deposited in the Stowers ODR. In unusual situations, the Stowers Scientific Director may grant exceptions.

Access to the Stowers ODR is available to the public and generally free. Occasionally, access to very large data files for which internet download is not practical may require special arrangements and may include a fee to cover the cost of storage media or other method of transfer.

To access original data, click into an individual publication page from the list of Publications on the Stowers Institute website. On the individual publication page, follow the “Stowers Original Data Repository” link or other public repository links, as applicable.

For more information about the Stowers ODR, please contact Kimberly Bland, Head of Science Communications.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of information is available through the Stowers ODR?
All relevant original data underlying the results of a published manuscript is added to the Stowers ODR. Data for intermediate processing steps, such as the deconvolution of imaging data, is added at the discretion of the author. If only a portion of large datasets is used to support a conclusion, for example, the top three hits in a screening project, the corresponding author may choose whether to submit only the portion pertaining to the published findings or the entire dataset to the Stowers ODR.

What do you consider original data?
In general, any data generated by an instrument, for example, a microscope or gel scanner, without any additional processing constitutes original data. In ambiguous cases, the Stowers Research Integrity Officer decides which data needs to be deposited in the Stowers ODR.

Are collaborators required to add data acquired at other institutions to the Stowers ODR?
We encourage but do not require that all collaborating authors from other institutions participate in the Stowers ODR.

Are Stowers researchers required to add data generated at the Institute to the Stowers ODR when the data is published with co-authors from another institution?
All data generated at the Stowers Institute must be submitted to the Stowers ODR regardless of whether the corresponding author is a Stowers researcher or not.

How can I find original data for a specific paper?
For publications listed on the Stowers Institute website that are associated with original data, the publication-specific page provides links to the Stowers ODR and other public repositories, as applicable. Alternatively, the Publications search function allows users to search for publication-specific pages by author name, keyword, journal name, or Stowers ODR accession ID.

A Stowers ODR link for a particular publication directs to the Stowers ODR FTP server. The original data files for a publication are typically organized by figures and tables in the FTP server view. The data may be organized in another manner appropriate for a particular publication. Some authors include processed versions of the same data in addition to the original data.

Occasionally, original data files are not available directly from the FTP server. In these cases, a text file is located in the figure or table folder in place of the original data. The text file provides information about the status of the original data, for example, if an exception for inclusion in the Stowers ODR has been granted by the Stowers Scientific Director or if the file size is prohibitively large for internet download.

How can I download data?
Most Stowers ODR data files on the FTP server are available for internet download. For very large datasets, it might be necessary to contact Stowers Library Services to find an alternate method for data access. A fee may be assessed to cover the cost of storage media or other method of transfer.

How do I download Stowers ODR files using an FTP client?
Stowers ODR files can be accessed from your computer using File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Depending on your computer operating system, this will allow you to drag and drop files and folders to your computer.

FTP is natively supported by Windows and Mac OS, but modern browsers often require downloading FTP client software such as FileZilla:

Use the following connection information to access the publication data:

Server Address: ftp://odr.stowers.org

Or, if your software has discrete fields:

Hostname: odr.stowers.org
Port: 21
Username: <leave this field empty>
Password: <leave this field empty>
Anonymous? Yes

Do I need permission from the original author if I want to publish a paper based on data from the Stowers ODR?
All data in the Stowers ODR is published data. Thus, the same rules that apply to data directly derived from publications apply. Please cite the original publication. The Institute encourages but does not require users who re-analyze or re-interpret the data to contact the generators of the original data.

How do I cite the Stowers ODR?
If you use data from the Stowers ODR, please cite the original publication. If you wish to refer to the Stowers ODR itself, please cite it as, “Stowers Original Data Repository, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA”. If you would like to report about the Stowers ODR and need additional background information, please contact Kimberly Bland, Head of Science Communications.

Whom should I contact if I do not agree with the conclusions drawn from a specific data set?
Please contact the corresponding author of the publication in question.

Whom should I contact if I suspect irregularities in the published data?
Please contact the Stowers Research Integrity Officer with your concern.