Scientific Data will be a forum for publications about datasets, but will not be a repository for primary datasets. Primary data associated with Data Descriptors will be stored in one or more external data repositories. Why this distinction? Read more
You suspect that the data you need is out there, but how do you find it? And if you find it, has it been described well enough for you to actually use it? Read more
Here at Scientific Data, we are busy developing guidelines for our future peer reviewers. We believe strongly in the role that peer evaluation plays in the scientific process, and hope that Scientific Data will set a new standard for critical and constructive peer evaluation at a data-focused publication. Authors will be expected to convince referees that the data is worthy of wider use in the scientific community by supporting the technical rigor of the data collection procedures, the completeness of the data and its description, and alignment with existing community standards. Referees will be asked to consider these points in detail, and will be free to request additional experiments when needed to support the data. Read more
Interested in getting involved with Scientific Data? Can you act as a representative for data standards, repositories, or resources within your scientific field? Find out how you can join the Scientific Data community.
Today, Nature Publishing Group formally announced its new data publication, Scientific Data. This publication platform is currently under development, and we hope to release our first call for submissions this fall and begin publishing content in the spring of 2014. Read more
The ongoing conversation around research data curation, preservation and publication has become increasingly exciting as various organisations have moved to encourage and in some cases support the sharing and reuse of data in context — an activity my own group at the University of Oxford e-Research Centre has worked hard to support through community building and the collaborative development of appropriate software. Funder and governmental data policies have encouraged the open access movement, data standards and advocacy communities to transform research communication; publishers have of course begun to take a more active role as a result. In a world that is undergoing great change there are only opportunities for those prepared to innovate and take on new challenges. As the Honorary Academic Editor of Scientific Data I appreciate the opportunity Nature Publishing Group has given me to contribute from within. Read more