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Data Guidelines
At Nordic Open Research, we are dedicated to promoting transparency, reproducibility, and accessibility in research. To uphold these principles, we require all authors to adhere to the following data guidelines when submitting their work for publication. These guidelines ensure that all research data is available to the scientific community in a usable and accessible format.
Data Availability
• Open Access Data: All data underlying the findings of your research must be made publicly available in an appropriate repository. This ensures that other researchers can verify your results and reproduce your work.
• Repository Selection: Data should be deposited in a recognized open-access repository that provides a DOI or a permanent link. Examples include Dryad, Figshare, Zenodo, and institutional repositories.
• Data Statement: Include a Data Availability Statement in your manuscript, specifying where and how the data can be accessed. This statement should provide direct links to the datasets and any necessary instructions for access.
Data Formatting and Documentation
• File Formats: Data should be provided in widely used, non-proprietary formats (e.g., CSV, TXT, JSON for tabular data; TIFF, PNG for images). This ensures that the data can be easily accessed and reused.
• Metadata: Comprehensive metadata should accompany the data files, describing the data collection methods, experimental design, and any other relevant information. This should be detailed enough to allow other researchers to understand and use the data without needing to contact the original authors.
• Readme Files: Include a README file in the dataset that explains the structure and content of the data files, including any abbreviations or codes used.
Ethical and Legal Considerations
• Consent and Privacy: Ensure that all data sharing complies with ethical standards and legal requirements. For data involving human subjects, confirm that appropriate consent has been obtained for data sharing.
• Sensitive Data: If your data includes sensitive information (e.g., personal data, confidential information), take appropriate steps to anonymize the data before sharing. Document any modifications made to protect privacy.
• Data Licensing: Apply an appropriate open data license to your datasets, such as a Creative Commons license, to clarify how others can use your data.
Data Citation
• Citing Data: Ensure that all datasets are cited in your manuscript. Use formal citations that include the DOI or permanent link provided by the repository.
• Data Citation Format: Follow standard citation formats for datasets, including the authors, year of publication, title, repository, and DOI. For example:
Author(s). (Year). Title of dataset. Repository Name. DOI.
Data Review and Compliance
• Data Review: Submitted data will be reviewed by our editorial team to ensure compliance with these guidelines. Failure to comply may result in delays in the publication process.
• Compliance Check: Authors may be required to provide additional information or make modifications to their data submissions to meet our standards.
Guidance on Specific Data Types
• Quantitative Data: Should be provided in a structured format such as CSV or Excel. Include details on variables, units of measurement, and any transformations applied.
• Qualitative Data: This should be provided with contextual information. Text data should be shared in formats like TXT or RTF, and any coding frameworks or analysis methods should be documented.
• Imaging Data: High-resolution images should be shared in standard formats like TIFF or PNG. Include information on the imaging equipment and settings used.
• Software and Code: If your research includes software or code, it should be shared in repositories like GitHub or GitLab, with a DOI obtained via services like Zenodo. Include detailed documentation and usage instructions.
Additional Resources
For further guidance on data preparation and sharing, authors are encouraged to consult resources such as:
[Repository's Help Pages]
[Data Management Plans (DMP) Guidance]
[Subject-specific Data Sharing Guidelines]
By adhering to these data guidelines, you contribute to the advancement of open science and ensure that your research can be reliably verified and built upon by others. We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining the highest standards of data sharing and transparency.
For any questions or additional support regarding data preparation and sharing, please contact our editorial team at [editor@nordicopenresearch.com].
