PSDS Frequently Asked Questions
Here you can find answers and guidance to help you use PSDS. If your query is not covered here, please contact us at support@psds.ac.uk and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
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Changes to access to PSDS
For FAQ answers relating to the changes in authentication for accessing PSDS please see the 'User authentication FAQ page'
Citing PSDS
How do I cite or acknowledge use of resources?
If you use the PSDS in your research please acknowledge us by putting the following statement in any publications you create:
"We wish to acknowledge the use of the EPSRC funded Physical Sciences Data-science Service hosted by the University of Southampton and STFC under grant number EP/S020357/1."
Continued provision of the Service does rely on its relevance to the community, so please do acknowledge the Service when appropriate. If you have examples of where you use PSDS in your scientific research, but do not have publications you can always contact us on support@psds.ac.uk to let us know!
Some of the data sources may have additional acknowledgment or citation requirements so ensure you read the terms & conditions for the individual resources.
Eligibility
I’m from outside of the UK, am I eligible to use PSDS?
The Physical Sciences Data-science Service is funded by EPSRC - UK Research and Innovation to provide access to data resources for UK Universities and Higher Education institutions. We give access to staff and students of UK academic institutions for the purposes of teaching and non-commercial research. Unfortunately, if you are not affiliated with a UK institution, you cannot access the data resources through PSDS. You may still be able to access some of the resources directly though.
I'm an Alumni of a University, can I use PSDS?
Unfortunately, we only provide access to current students or members of staff at Universities or Higher education institutions in the UK. We cannot provide access for those individuals who are no longer actively linked to HE institutions. However, if you work at a public-sector institution and wish to have access to the data for this can be assessed on a case by case basis.
Registration & Login
I’ve registered but haven’t received an email yet.
After registering for a username and password account it may take a little while for your confirmation email to come through. Firstly please check that the email hasn’t ended up in your Spam/Junk email folder.
If you registered with a non-academic email address we will be in contact to check that you are affiliated with an academic institution. If you have not received anything within 2 working days please contact us through our Contact Us page or email us at support@psds.ac.uk
Why can’t I reset my password?
If you requested a password reset but can’t find anywhere to reset your password, your account is most likely set-up to use institutional login. Please try to login via your institution on the log in page. If this directs you to the account setup page then please contact support@psds.ac.uk as we will need to reset your account to allow you to correctly merge them. Once you have set up institutional login you can no longer use the username and password login method.
Institutional Access
Why do I receive an Access Denied error when logging in via my institution?
You may receive an Access Denied error for one of the following reasons:
- You attempted to log in with an account which is not associated with a UK academic institution.
- You are not registered with your institution as a member, staff, student or employee.
We reject other affiliations in accordance with our licencing agreement and the UK Access Management Federation’s Technical Recommendation for participants: https://docs.ukfederation.org.uk/trp/TRP-1.5.pdf
If you believe you were wrongly denied access, please contact us at support@psds.ac.uk, and let us know which institution you attempted to log in with. Instead of signing in with your institution, you can instead register for a PSDS account.
Logging in via my institution results in incorrect information about myself being saved to my account.
This means your institution does not have the correct information saved about you. You will need to contact them to get your details updated. Once your institution has updated your details, the next time you log in they will be updated on the PSDS site.
Why doesn’t my institution appear in the dropdown list?
This means your institution is not registered with the UK Access Management Federation, you can register for a PSDS account instead. Please contact your institution if you wish to enquire about this.
What happens if I am going to move institution and I usually log in via my current institutional account?
If you will be moving institution, please contact us at support@psds.ac.uk from the email address associated with your current institution.
myPSDS Account
How can I change details in my account?
Once logged in please click the My Account link in the top right of our site. This will take you to your myPSDS profile page. Through the 'Edit Profile' tab you can change information about yourself, your affiliation or your research interests. You can also change your password, if you have a username/password account. If you use institutional login you do not have a PSDS password to change.
You can also change your subscription to the PSDS News newsletter through the 'My Newsletters' tab.
How do I access my previous searches?
Previous searches are now accessible for searches run in ChASe. Searches run in the past 3 days will automatically be displayed in the 'My Searches' tab of your account. If searches do not display for you, please navigate to the PSDS homepage and click on the 'Chemical Availability Search' tile to open ChASe and then run a new search.
How do I save and re-run a search?
Recent searches can be saved through the 'My Searches' tab of your account and interacted with in the following way.
- Click the plus icon next to the search to add a recent search to your saved searches.
- Click the minus icon next to a saved search to remove it from your saved searches.
- To re-run a search click the 'Re-Run Search' button next to each search.
Remote Desktop
How do I get access to the CSD remote desktop?
Please ensure you have completed the CSD memorandum of understanding by going to the homepage and clicking the CSD tile. At the bottom of the form is a tick box to request ‘Access to the remote desktop feature’, please ensure this is ticked. If you do not see the memorandum in this place, please navigate to this form and complete the details there. These applications will be processed in batches and you should receive login information shortly after applying.
Why is my remote desktop access not working?
If you have previously accessed remote desktop and are now getting a message saying that your account / password has expired, you will need to contact us through support@psds.ac.uk to reactivate your account. Remote desktop accounts are activated for a period of 6-months at a time. This is to ensure that all remote desktop users are still legitimate UK academics and have the correct permission to access the data sources.
If you get an error message saying the remote desktop cannot be reached this may be due to the network you are trying to access from. Please ensure you are connected to your institutional network (either on-campus or via VPN). If the error message still continues please contact the helpdesk on support@psds.ac.uk.
PSDS in Teaching
Can my students register with PSDS?
Yes, all students registered at a UK educational institution are eligible to register with PSDS. We encourage registration through Institutional Login to give them instant access to our resources. Otherwise they can apply for a PSDS account with a username / password and we will check their eligibility and enable their account.
Accessing the Site
How do I access the PSDS resources?
Resources can be accessed via the PSDS Homepage. You will need to be logged into a PSDS account in order to access the resources. You can either register for a username / password account, or log in via your institution. This will allow you to access the resources from any location.
I’m having trouble finding things on the site, what should I do?
First you should check out our Resources page which shows the different resources we have available and links to info pages for each resource. On our Learning page you can find factsheets about the different resources along with some workshop material and video resources.
If you still haven’t found what you were looking for please contact us through our Contact Us page or email us at support@psds.ac.uk
Why do I always see the memo of understanding?
On the CSD and Crystalworks resources you are required to agree to extra terms and conditions. If you are not logged in you will have to fill out this memo each time you access the resource, if you log in to your PSDS account you will not have to fill out the details each time.
You can also bookmark the direct links that you are given after agreeing to the memo of understanding. These will take you straight to the CSD or Crystalworks site.
Which browsers are supported?
We support the following browsers:
- Internet Explorer 7 or newer, on Windows Vista or newer.
- Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or later
- Opera 8.0 or newer (TLS 1.1 protocol needs to be enabled)
- Opera Mobile with at least version 10.1 beta on Android
- Google Chrome (Vista or newer. XP on Chrome 6 or newer)
- OS X 10.5.7 or newer on Chrome 5.0.342.1 or newer
- Safari 2.1 or later (Mac OS X 10.5.6 or newer and Windows Vista or newer)
- Konqueror/KDE 4.7 or newer
- MobileSafari in Apple iOS 4.0 or newer
- Android default browser on Honeycomb or newer
- Windows Phone 7 MicroB on Maemo
We do not support the following browsers:
- Internet Explorer, all versions, on Windows XP
- Safari, on Windows XP
- BlackBerry Browser
- Windows Mobile 6.5 and lower
- Android 2.x default browser
Can I use EZProxy?
No, it is not compatible with our service. EZProxy is a paid-for service that sends your request to access a data provider to the EZProxy server in the USA and from there to the service provider.
The PSDS service is not listed on the available EZProxy services list and it is unlikely it ever will be. The PSDS service is free to use for all academic users in the UK. There is no need to pay for a service via EZProxy.
How do I set up EZProxy for use from my institution or home?
Some institutions use EZProxy and make use of its ability to enable authentication for users when they are located outside of the institution’s network address range. However, it is not compatible with our service. Please do not attempt to use EZProxy – it will not work for you.
If you need to access PSDS from somewhere away from your institution, say from home or from an airport, you should get connected to the Internet rather than your institution’s network then navigate to the PSDS homepage, click on the login link and either login via institutional login or enter your username and password if you do not use institutional login. This will send you to the off-site-home page. Click on the tiles displayed and you will be able to access the service providers as if you were at your desk at the institution.
DETHERM
Why am I getting an IP / restricted access message on DETHERM?
DECHEMA have introduced restrictions on the locations from which DETHERM data can be downloaded from. You are now required to be connected to an institutional network. If you receive the 'Service is restricted to college users' error, please ensure you are on your institutional network. If you continue to receive this message and believe it to be in error, please contact us on support@psds.ac.uk
Why am I getting an error when trying to checkout on DETHERM?
There is now a monthly usage cap applied to the total number of DETHERM data downloads. Once this cap has been reached, no further downloads will be allowed. This cap relates to the value of the data downloaded rather than the number of download actions a user makes.