Abstract
Data journals provide strong incentives for data creators to verify, document and disseminate their data. They also bring data access and documentation into the mainstream of scholarly communication, rewarding data creators through existing mechanisms of peer-reviewed publication and citation tracking. These same advantages are not generally associated with data repositories, or with conventional journals’ data-sharing mandates. This article describes the unique advantages of data journals. It also examines the data journal landscape, presenting the characteristics of 13 data journals in the fields of biology, environmental science, chemistry, medicine and health sciences. These journals vary considerably in size, scope, publisher characteristics, length of data reports, data hosting policies, time from submission to first decision, article processing charges, bibliographic index coverage and citation impact. They are similar, however, in their peer review criteria, their open access license terms and the characteristics of their editorial boards.
Highlights
The benefits of free, unmediated access to research data are widely acknowledged, especially in the life sciences
Of the 169 journals identified as data journals by Candela et al
The 13 Group 1 journals that publish in the fields of medicine
Summary
The benefits of free, unmediated access to research data are widely acknowledged, especially in the life sciences. Despite mandates from both funding agencies and publishers, open data initiatives have been only partially successful. Previous research suggests that this can be attributed to a lack of incentives for data creators, who are often expected to expend considerable effort without receiving meaningful rewards for their work. Data creators who have documented their procedures in detail, made their data userfriendly, and met data archives’ strict submission requirements, will often receive nothing more than an acknowledgment, which counts for little within the framework of research funding, promotion and tenure. Data journals bring access and documentation into the mainstream of scholarly communication through conventional practices such as authorship, publication and citation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
