STM, DataCite, and Crossref are thrilled to announce an updated collaborative statement on the accessibility and citation of research data. Originally penned in 2012, the joint statement emphasized the importance of linkability and citability of research data. Now, with the tracking of nearly 10 million data citations and the widespread adoption of best practices by repositories, journals, and funders, it is time to provide updated recommendations for the diverse stakeholders engaged in research data sharing.
The core premise of the original joint statement remains unchanged: stakeholders, including researchers, funders, librarians, and publishers, unanimously acknowledge the benefits of making research data readily available for reuse. This significantly enhances the utility and rigor of the scholarly record. While progress has been made, research data sharing is not yet universally integrated into the research lifecycle. However, the existing scholarly communication infrastructure positions us well for transformative change, with momentum building for collective action.
In light of this context, DataCite and STM, representing a global membership community of over 2800 repositories and more than 140 scientific, technical, and medical publishing organizations, respectively, issue this joint statement. Joining this call is Crossref, a nonprofit open infrastructure with over 18,000 institutional members from 150 countries, emphasizing the need for an intensified focus on data citation. The purpose of this statement is to expedite the adoption of best practices and policies while encouraging collaborative efforts for the further development of essential policies.
The signatories of this statement advocate the following best practices for research data sharing:
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Deposit and Linking: Researchers should deposit related research data and outputs in a reputable data repository with assigned persistent identifiers (preferably DOIs). Linking to research data using these identifiers is crucial.
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Attribution: When utilizing research data created by others, researchers must provide proper attribution by citing datasets in the reference section, employing persistent identifiers.
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FAIR Data: Data repositories should facilitate the FAIR sharing of research outputs, ensuring metadata quality and completeness.
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Journal Data Policies: Publishers should establish appropriate journal data policies, outlining how data is to be shared alongside published articles.
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Author Instructions: Publishers must provide instructions to authors, directing them to include Data Citations with persistent identifiers in the references section.
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Data Availability Statements: Publishers should include Data Citations and links to data in Data Availability Statements, utilizing persistent identifiers (preferably DOIs) in the article metadata registered with Crossref.
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Inclusivity of Data Availability Statements: In addition to Data Citations, Data Availability Statements (both human- and machine-readable) should be included in published articles when applicable.
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Connectivity: Repositories and publishers should establish persistent identifier connections in metadata and reference lists, linking articles and datasets.
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Guidance and Promotion: Funders and research organizations should guide researchers on open science practices, track compliance with open science policies, and encourage researchers to openly share, cite, and link research data.
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Collaboration on FAIR Policies: Funders, policymaking institutions, publishers, and research organizations should collaborate to align FAIR research data policies and guidelines.
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Tool Development: All stakeholders should collaborate in the development of tools, processes, and incentives throughout the research cycle to facilitate the sharing of high-quality research data, ensuring clarity, simplicity, and efficiency for researchers.
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Research Assessment: Stakeholders responsible for research assessment should consider data sharing and data citation in their reward and recognition system structures.
The undersigned parties commit to adopting and promoting the aforementioned best practices. We anticipate that our collective actions will inspire the broader community, including researchers, research funders, research institutions, data repositories, and publishers, to actively support and facilitate researchers in the seamless sharing, linking, and citation of research data.
Endorse the statement here.
