Data publication consensus and controversies

Abstract

The movement to bring datasets into the scholarly record as first class research products (validated, preserved, cited, and credited) has been inching forward for some time, but now the pace is quickening. As data publication venues proliferate, significant debate continues over formats, processes, and terminology. Here, we present an overview of data publication initiatives underway and the current conversation, highlighting points of consensus and issues still in contention. Data publication implementations differ in a variety of factors, including the kind of documentation, the location of the documentation relative to the data, and how the data is validated. Publishers may present data as supplemental material to a journal article, with a descriptive "data paper," or independently. Complicating the situation, different initiatives and communities use the same terms to refer to distinct but overlapping concepts. For instance, the term means that the data is publicly available and citable to published virtually everyone, but it may or may not imply that the data has been peer-reviewed. In turn, what is meant by data peer review is far from defined; standards and processes encompass the full range employed in reviewing the literature, plus some novel variations. Basic data citation is a point of consensus, but the general agreement on the core elements of a dataset citation frays if the data is dynamic or part of a larger set. Even as data publication is being defined, some are looking past publication to other metaphors, notably "data as software," for solutions to the more stubborn problems.This article is included in the Science Policy gateway. ResearchThis article is included in the Data: Use and Reuse collection. Amendments from Version 2This version no longer presents three models for data publication based on documentation. Instead, we treat documentation as an essential feature and discuss three forms of documentation in parallel with forms of availability, citation, and validation. The figure has been updated to reflect this reorganization.Numerous minor additions, corrections and clarifications were made throughout in response to referee and reader comments. Most significantly, the discussions of paper-independent documentation and validation have been expanded, as has the concluding "beyond data publication". See referee reports REVISED What does data publication mean?The idea that researchers should share data to advance knowledge and promote the common good is an old one, but in recent years the conversation has shifted from sharing data to publishing data 1-3 . This shift in language stems from the conviction that datasets should join the scholarly record and be afforded the same first-class status as traditional research products like journal articles 4,5 . While many in the scholarly communication community share this goal, different people and organizations often refer to different things with the phrase data publication. Lawrence et al. (2011) define formal data Publication (upper-c...

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