Can I deaccession/unpublish a published dataset?

You can only deaccession a published dataset.

Deaccession the published dataset [not recommended]

Deaccessioning a dataset or a version of a dataset is a very serious action that should only occur if there is a legal or valid reason for the dataset to no longer be accessible to the public. If you absolutely must deaccession, you can deaccession a version of a dataset or an entire dataset.

To deaccession, go to a dataset you’ve already published (or add a new one and publish it), click on Edit Dataset, then Deaccession Dataset. If you have multiple versions of a dataset, you can select here which versions you want to deaccession or choose to deaccession the entire dataset.

You must also include a reason as to why this dataset was deaccessioned from a dropdown list of options. There is also a free-text box to add more details as to why this was deaccessioned. If the dataset has moved to a different repository or site you are encouraged to include a URL (preferably persistent) for users to continue to be able to access this dataset in the future. If you deaccession the most recently published version of the dataset but not all versions of the dataset, you are able to go in and create a new draft for the dataset. For example, you have a version 1 and version 2 of a dataset, both published, and deaccession version 2. You are then able to edit version 1 of the dataset and a new draft will be created.

Important Note: A tombstone landing page with the basic citation metadata will always be accessible to the public if they use the persistent URL (DOI) provided in the citation for that dataset. Users will not be able to see any of the files or additional metadata that were previously available prior to deaccession.