Ask not what you can do for open data; ask what open data can do for you

Mathias Astell, marketing manager for Scientific Data and Scientific Reports, outlines the benefits of open research data and provides some tips and tools researchers can use to make their data more open.

It has been shown that research articles receive more citations when they have their underlying data openly linked to them. With this in mind, it’s time to consider not just the ideological reasons for making research data open, but the selfish benefits of openly sharing data that all researchers can (and should) be taking advantage of.

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This infographic can be downloaded under a CC-BY licence here

And as an increasing number of funders mandate data sharing, and publishers start implementing more consistent data policies at their journals, it is worth seriously considering how and why you should make the research data you generate more openly available. Continue reading

TechBlog: Smartphone science, no programming required

MIT App Designer 2

MIT App Designer 2

In the 4 May Nature technology feature, I explore the growing use of smartphones to drive scientific research. Today’s phones are so full-featured, they’re often ready for use out-of-the-box. Sometimes, though, a custom app is required, and that can be a sticking point, as programming a mobile app isn’t easy.

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