Table of Contents
Licensing and citing data
Example of Standard Citation
SmartDublin. “DCC Mixed Dry Recyclables”. CSV file. Accessed February 4, 2020. https://data.smartdublin.ie/dataset/dcc-mixed-dry-recyclables.
How to share data by specifying a license
(from the Open Data Handbook and Open Definition)
In most jurisdictions there are intellectual property rights in data that prevent third-parties from using, reusing and redistributing data without explicit permission. Even in places where the existence of rights is uncertain, it is important to apply a license simply for the sake of clarity. So, for “open” data, it is advisable to use a license for dedication to the public domain or share-alike (plus attribution), through Creative Commons or Open Data Commons.
The following licenses conform with the principles set forth in the Open Definition.
- Domain = Domain of application, i.e. what type of material this license should/can be applied to. Note if you are looking for an open license for software, please see Open Source Definition conformant licenses.
- BY = requires attribution
- SA = requires share-alike
The vast majority of Dublinked data is licensed under either CC-BY-4.0 or CC-BY so please consider these licences first.
| License | Domain | By | SA | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0) | Content, Data | Y | N | |
| Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) | Content | Y | N | All versions 1.0-3.0, including jurisdiction “ports” |
| Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 (CC-BY-SA-4.0) | Content, Data | Y | Y | |
| Creative Commons CCZero (CC0) | Content, Data | N | N | Dedicate to the Public Domain (all rights waived) |
| Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and Licence (PDDL) | Data | N | N | Dedicate to the Public Domain (all rights waived) |
| Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-BY) | Data | Y | N | Attribution for data(bases) |
| Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (CC-BY-SA) | Content | Y | Y | All versions 2.0-3.0, including jurisdiction “ports”; version 1.0 is little used and not recommended because it is incompatible with future versions |
| Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL) | Data | Y | Y | Attribution-ShareAlike for data(bases) |
See more at: http://opendefinition.org/licenses/
Acknowledgement of use of Dublinked content
Not only should citations be created when collecting data from other sources, but also when using data from the Dublinked website. The citation should include the name of the author or source organization, the name of the page or resource used, the link/URL, and the date of access.
Below is an example of how to attribute your use of Dublinked.
The content of the site that has been produced by SmartDublin is covered by the Creative Commons Share-Alike Attribution license (CC BY-SA 3.0).
If you reproduce and distribute Dublinked content you must give appropriate credit to SmartDublin, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests SmartDublin endorses you or your use. ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build on the content produced or generated by SmartDublin, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
SmartDublin suggests the following:
Sharing: Copying, distributing and using SmartDublin content.
“[Title of content produced/generated by SmartDublin with hyperlink]” by SmartDublin, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Creating: Publishing works produced/generated from SmartDublin content.
This work, “[Title of your work with hyperlink here]”, is a derivative of “[Title of content produced/generated by SmartDublin with hyperlink]” by SmartDublin, used under CC-BY-SA. “[Title of your work here]” is licensed under CC-BY-SA by [Your name here].
Adapting: Publishing works modified, transformed and built upon SmartDublin content.
This work, “[Title of your work with hyperlink here]”, is an adaptation of “[Title of content produced/generated by SmartDublin with hyperlink]” by SmartDublin, used under CC-BY-SA. [Briefly explain the modification or transformation] “[Title of your work here]” is licensed under CC-BY-SA by [Your name here].
In circumstances where providing the hyperlinks with the above attributions is not technically feasible, you should include the plain text of the URL of the content/data on SmartDublin with the above notice.
For further guidance, choose an established citation format (such as APA or Chicago) and apply it consistently.
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