Resource Types in OSF
OSF Projects, Registrations, and Files can be described with information about the kind of material you are sharing in a human and machine readable format. Indexes and search engines can use the resource types to filter results, increasing discoverability for works with completed metadata. This information is found in the metadata field Resource type.
When the resource type is applied to an OSF Project or Registration, the appropriate type might refer to the specific type of material being shared, such as a Registration that contains a dataset. Alternately, a type like collection might be selected if the files shared are diverse. More information on adding and editing metadata can be found in separate guides for Projects and Registrations.
In addition to indicating the resource type at the Project or Registration level, individual files can also be enhanced with resource type information. More information on adding metadata to individual files is found at in this guide.
OSF use the set of resource types defined in the Datacite Metadata Schema. This list is used by many repositories and publishers. A description of each type is below, and more information is available on our help guides:
- Audiovisual - Videos or moving image formats. A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. May or may not include sound.
- Book - A medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages bound together.
- BookChapter - One of the main divisions of a book.
- Collection - An aggregation of resources, which may encompass collections of one resourceType as well as those of mixed types. A collection is described as a group; its parts may also be separately described.
- ComputationalNotebook - A virtual notebook environment used for literate programming.
- ConferencePaper - Article that is written with the goal of being accepted to a conference.
- ConferenceProceeding - Collection of academic papers published in the context of an academic conference.
- DataPaper - A factual and objective publication with a focused intent to identify and describe specific data, sets of data, or data collections to facilitate discoverability.
- Dataset - Data encoded in a defined structure.
- Dissertation - A written essay, treatise, or thesis, especially one written by a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
- Event - A non-persistent, time-based occurrence.
- Image - A visual representation other than text.
- Instrument - A device, tool or apparatus used to obtain, measure and/or analyze data.
- InteractiveResource - A resource requiring interaction from the user to be understood, executed, or experienced.
- Journal - A scholarly publication consisting of articles that is published regularly throughout the year.
- JournalArticle - A written composition on a topic of interest, which forms a separate part of a journal.
- Model - An abstract, conceptual, graphical, mathematical or visualization model that represents empirical objects, phenomena, or physical processes.
- OutputManagementPlan - A formal document that outlines how research outputs are to be handled both during a research project and after the project is completed. Include data, software, and materials management plans.
- PeerReview - Evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by others working in the same field.
- PhysicalObject - An inanimate, threedimensional object or substance.
- Preprint - A version of a scholarly or scientific paper that precedes formal peer review and publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly or scientific journal.
- Report - A document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose.
- Service - An organized system of apparatus, appliances, staff, etc., for supplying some function(s) required by end users.
- Software - A computer program other than a computational notebook, in either source code (text) or compiled form. Use this type for general software components supporting scholarly research. Use the “ComputationalNotebook” value for virtual notebooks.
- Sound - Audio recordings. A resource primarily intended to be heard.
- Standard - Something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model, example, or point of reference.
- StudyRegistration - A detailed, time-stamped description of a research plan, often openly shared in a registry or published in a journal before the study is conducted to lend accountability and transparency in the hypothesis generating and testing process.
- Text - A resource consisting primarily of words for reading that is not covered by any other textual resource type in this list.
- Workflow - Protocols or methods. A structured series of steps which can be executed to produce a final outcome, allowing users a means to specify and enact their work in a more reproducible manner.
- Other - It is recommended that you choose one of the resource types that most closely aligns with your materials. You can choose “Other” if there is not a choice that matches.
