Abstract
To address the complexities researchers face during publication, and the potential community-wide benefits of wider adoption of clear data policies, the publisher Springer Nature has developed a standardised, common framework for the research data policies of all its journals. An expert working group was convened to audit and identify common features of research data policies of the journals published by Springer Nature, where policies were present. The group then consulted with approximately 30 editors, covering all research disciplines within the organisation. The group also consulted with academic editors, librarians and funders, which informed development of the framework and the creation of supporting resources. Four types of data policy were defined in recognition that some journals and research communities are more ready than others to adopt strong data policies. As of January 2017 more than 700 journals have adopted a standard policy and this number is growing weekly. To potentially enable standardisation and harmonisation of data policy across funders, institutions, repositories, societies and other publishers, the policy framework was made available under a Creative Commons license. However, the framework requires wider debate with these stakeholders and an Interest Group within the Research Data Alliance (RDA) has been formed to initiate this process.
Highlights
Research data policies influence researchers’ willingness to share research data to varying extents (Meadows, 2014; Schmidt, Gemeinholzer and Treloar, 2016)
With some requiring researchers to prepare data management plans and others, such as the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), requiring evidence of public data archiving to be included in published research papers
Open research data is an enabler of high quality research and innovation, as demonstrated in communities such as crystallography, genetics, archaeology and linguistics (HEFCE, Research Councils UK, Universities UK, and the Wellcome Trust, 2016)
Summary
Research data policies influence researchers’ willingness to share research data to varying extents (Meadows, 2014; Schmidt, Gemeinholzer and Treloar, 2016). A growing number of research funders and institutions are introducing policies on research data sharing These include the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Gates Foundation, the EU Horizon 2020 programme, the Wellcome Trust and the seven UK research councils (Hahnel, 2015). To support the publication of more reproducible research, scholarly journals, societies and conferences are introducing data sharing policies which, in principle, should reflect the needs and norms of their respective research communities while being cognizant of funder requirements, where applicable. Many journals have no stated policy on research data, and journals and publishers arguably have a responsibility to support researcher compliance with funder policies – as is established for open access policies (for papers, rather than data). Open research data is an enabler of high quality research and innovation, as demonstrated in communities such as crystallography, genetics, archaeology and linguistics (HEFCE, Research Councils UK, Universities UK, and the Wellcome Trust, 2016)
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