Why publish research data?
- Avoid disasters! If you share data you avoid accusations of fabricating data if you make mistakes. When you share data with the reviewers of you research papers, they may even see mistakes before an article gets to print.
- Increase the impact and visibility of your research! Datasets are another path for others to find your work. Researchers may find your paper via the dataset. They may build upon published data and cite the original paper. Publishing in a data repository can improve citation rates.
- Enhance the credibility of your research! When others can access and verify data, it enhances the credibility of the research findings, and your credibility as a trustworthy researcher!
- For your future self! You would not be alone if you needed to use data from an earlier project, and discovered that you hadn’t documented it properly. Publishing data ensures access for future use, preventing data loss or unavailability.
- Because journals or funding bodies may require it! Many journals and funding bodies now require data sharing, driven by concerns about scientific credibility, transparency and the need for reproducibility.
C2B2 supports the FAIR model.
You make your data FAIR by publishing a dataset in a research data repository. The basis of the FAIR principles are that data should be:
- independently accessible
- citable via a persistent identifier
- described using structured metadata
- properly documented.
- given clear usage conditions, e.g., a license.
Note that FAIR is not the same thing as “freely-downloadable”! Data that are published with restricted access (where potential users fill in an application to obtain the data) are considered FAIR.
What support is C2B2 offering?
C2B2 and the SND network can provide direct support with such tasks as:
- Getting started with data management plans, getting feedback on plans.
- Preparing a dataset for publishing in a research data repository.
- Creating a dataset description at doris.snd.se
If you need support with data management, if you have questions about what can or cannot be published, or if you have marine research data that you wish to publish, please get in touch!
Why is C2B2 offering this support?
C2B2 is committed to improving Marine data stewardship. Marine environmental data are today often aggregated by international services for the benefit of all organisations and individuals. However, expanding number of data providers to include more actors and new sectors requires expanded data stewardship. This means helping data collectors to navigate the process of making their data available, including the processes of creating datasets in suitable file formats, writing documentation that has an appropriate level of detail, and entering the required metadata into a research data repository’s web interface.
We are absolutely convinced of the transformative power of opening up marine research data for use by a wider community, but at the same time we are acutely aware that this involves overcoming a number of challenges.
Get in touch!
If you collect research data but you have not published data via a research data repository because it always feels like a task that you never quite get time for, then take this opportunity to get started with support from Swedish National Data service network and the C2B2 programme!
Contact persons
David Rayner
Per Bergström
