A simple, step-by-step guide for journals and publishers who want to collect and highlight Data Availability Statement (DAS) and data-to-literature links (data citations) within their articles. These resources complement the STM Guide to selecting and implementing data journal policies, below.
By linking to research data in published articles, journals can help to contextualize the data and increase access to it. This resource, which is based on the work of Hrynaszkiewicz et al., will guide you through the process of selecting and then implementing a journal data policy to best suit your needs.
The Research Data Alliance Data Policy Standardisation and Implementation Interest Group was set up in recognition of the fact that policy makers and funders were increasingly announcing data policies for researchers.
The RDA group developed a framework containing 6 policy tiers and consisting of 14 features. As well as explanatory information on the policies themselves, the document contains implementation notes and template policy texts.
They advise publishers to work with journal communities (academic editors, boards, learned societies) to ensure each title selects a policy that is realistic for authors and reviewers to manage. Over time, implementation, compliance and workloads can be monitored. When appropriate, the policy itself can be reviewed to see if the journal is ready to move to the next tier.
Once they have become sufficiently familiar with the data policy and its implications, STM advises publishers to start using existing knowledge and workflows to expose the data and enable researchers to start meaningfully sharing it.
Crossref has worked hard to facilitate the inclusion of dataset links within journal articles, and STM supports its core message to publishers to collect data citation information – either in the references or as a relationship in the article’s metadata record – and send the data to Crossref. If this is done correctly, then various APIs will be able to extract information and provide further aggregation services.
Figure reproduced from presentation given by Rachael Lammey of Crossref at the STM December 2019 workshop. Full slide deck available here.
We created a simple step-by-step guide for publishers who want to support data-to-literature links using the Scholix framework by sharing information with Crossref. The document also explains the tremendous advantages of the Scholix framework for publishers and authors. Click here to download.
Full instructions for marking up data and software references can be also be found on the Crossref site here.
You can find more background information on Scholix in this webinar.
In 2017, a group of people working in publishing convened through a FORCE11/NIH BioCADDIE initiative, to develop a data citation roadmap for publishers. Recognising the challenges involved in changing workflows, they provided the following:
These latter points include revising editor training and advocacy material, through Author FAQs, and updating customer services information. And there is advice on avoiding pitfalls such as inadvertently contravening a double-blind peer review system by not removing author information from an embargoed dataset.
Figure reproduced from Cousijn, H., Kenall, A., Ganley, E. et al. A data citation roadmap for scientific publishers. Sci Data 5, 180259 (2018) doi:10.1038/sdata.2018.259
End-t0-end workflow to link research data to literature, and FAIRsFAIR tools in development relevant to publishers (Tasha Mellins-Cohen, Rachael Lammey (Crossref), and Ilona von Stein (FAIRsFAIR), March 22nd (see presentations in the Background Material section below).
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DATA POLICIES: Iain Hrynaszkiewicz of PLOS explains what a journal data policy is, and how a Research Data Alliance Interest Group came together to develop a framework to equip publishers to choose, explain and implement data policies across their portfolios. (Both the presentation and slides are available below)
DATA CITATION: Rachael Lammey of Crossref provides links to useful resources on data sharing and citation, information on how Crossref members can cite data in the metadata they send to Crossref, and how that’s then used by initiatives like Scholix. (Both presentation and slides are available below.)
