Abstract – How can we ensure research data is re-usable

Catriona MacCallum_Photo_LEARN_2nd Workshop

Catriona MacCallum

Catriona MacCallum, PhD

PLOS Acting Advocacy Director

 

Title: How can we ensure research data is re-usable? The role of Publishers in Research Data Management

Abstract: Data, in all its many guises, lies at the heart of Scholarly Communication. Research Data Management therefore needs to encompass all research artefacts and the links between them. Central to the responsibility of publishers is a focus on effective and efficient dissemination and a recognition that research infrastructure is as important as the research artefacts themselves if the data are to be re-useable.

PLOS has tackled these issues in several ways. Open access with liberal reuse rights to the research literature was a first step. The launch of PLOS ONE embraced the validity of negative or inconclusive data. Promoting transparent reporting remains a key editorial strategy, and a recent mandatory data sharing statement for all authors has increased the availability of the data associated with our papers. Finally, our upcoming requirement for corresponding authors to register for an ORCID iD will link researchers to their outputs and help shift the current system of evaluation and credit,

Publication is perceived as the last step in a research project but by the time a paper is submitted to a publisher it is often too late to make the data available in a state that is reusable. Publishers, funders and institutions need to align their policies in a way that best supports researchers and helps foster the cultural changes required to transition to Open Science.

Catriona MacCallum cmaccallum@plos.org