Data Guidelines
Data Guidelines
1. Background
This page provides information about research data that needs to be include when publishing an article in Open Research Europe, where your data can be stored, and how your data should be presented. Authors will be required to provide details of where their data is hosted upon submission (excepting ethical, data protection or confidentiality considerations) through a Data Availability Statement, which is required for all articles. The Open Data Policy is aligned to the Horizon 2020 open access requirements, as expressed in Article 29.3 of the Model Grant Agreement.
Before you begin, please closely consult any Data Management Plan completed in relation to the research. For additional help please see the Horizon 2020 Guidelines on FAIR Data Management.
1.1 Open Data Policy
Open Research Europe requires open access to research data supporting articles under the principle ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’, according to the policy of Horizon 2020. Data should be deposited in data repositories.
All articles should include citations to repositories that host the data underlying the results, together with any information needed to replicate, validate, and/or reuse the results/ your study and analysis of the data - as part of the Data Availability Statement. This includes details of any software, instrument or other tool used to process results and, where relevant, the raw data. Importantly, publishing your data will allow you to track its provenance and ensure that those responsible for its generation are adequately credited for their work. Others who then reuse your data for their own studies can cite your data (which can be cited separately from your article if appropriate). Failure to openly provide data for publication without good justification will result in your article being rejected.
Exceptions: We recognize that openly sharing data may not always be feasible. Exceptions to open access to research data underlying publications in the Open Research Europe are permitted according to the relevant policy of Horizon 2020. These consider the obligation to protect results, confidentiality obligation, security obligations, the obligation to protect personal data, if providing open access would jeopardise the achievement of the main objective of the H2020 project from which the research data derives, and other legitimate constraints. Where open access is not provided to the data needed to validate the conclusions of a publication that reports original results, authors should provide the relevant access needed to validate the conclusions to the extent their legitimate interests or constraints are safeguarded (see Add a Data Availability Statement to Your Article).
1.2 FAIR Data Principles
Open Research Europe endorses the FAIR Data Principles, alongside an Open Data policy, as a framework to promote the broadest reuse of research data.
Findable
For data to be reused, it must be findable. To ensure that others can find your data, we
ask that data be hosted by a stable and recognised open repository (where it is safe to do so) and
assigned a globally unique persistent identifier (PID, such as a DOI). Using such a repository and
identifier ensures that your dataset continues to be available to both humans and machines in a
useable form in the future.
To aid discoverability, data should also be described using appropriate metadata. The content and
format of metadata is often guided by a specific discipline and/or repository through the use of a
metadata standard. When depositing data in a repository, it is important that you fill in as many
fields as possible as this information usually contributes to the metadata record(s). In some
cases, specifically where using a discipline-specific repository, the submission of metadata files
alongside the data may be required.
For practical guidance please see Select a Repository.
Accessible
Data accessibility is defined by the presence of a user license. Data supporting Open Research Europe articles should be openly published under the most recent Creative Commons Attribution International Public License (CC BY) or Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0 license) which facilitates data reuse. For software and source code, we strongly advise the use an OSI-approved license.
For practical guidance please see Add a Data
Availability Statement to Your Article.
Interoperable
Interoperable data can be compared and combined with data from different sources by both humans and
machines – promoting integrative analyses. To bolster interoperability, data supporting
Open Research Europe articles should be stored in a non-proprietary open file format and described
using a standard vocabulary (where available). In some cases, the preferred file formats and
vocabularies will be dictated by the repository you choose to host your data.
For practical guidance please see Prepare Your Data
for Sharing.
Reusable
Data that is findable, accessible, and interoperable is generally fit for reuse. On occasion, the
inclusion of additional documentation alongside the data may be required to ensure that the data
are understandable and thus reusable. As a general rule, someone who is not familiar with the data
should be able to understand what it is about using only the metadata and documentation provided.
By extension, the same practises that enable data reuse also support reproducibility.
2.1 Prepare Your Data for Sharing
Before you begin, we strongly suggest that you consult FAIRSharing.org
for details of data standards specific to the topic of your research. Depending on your field of
study, there may already be standards in place that will help guide how your data should be
structured, formatted, and annotated.
When depositing data involving human participants, authors must ensure that all datasets have been
de-identified in accordance with the Safe Harbor method before submission.
Please ensure that all files are labelled clearly so readers will understand the contents of, and
difference between, the files. For each file/group, we suggest you provide:
- A single short title describing the content of the files;
- A more detailed legend describing each dataset, so it is clear that the files are distinct and downloadable (including the explanation of any acronyms used in the dataset).
2.1.1 Spreadsheet data
To increase the accessibility and reusability of spreadsheet data (i.e. large tables or raw data),
they should adhere to the following best practices:
DO
- Give each column a descriptive heading.
- Use a single header row.
- Ensure you have used the first cell, i.e. A1.
- Include a title and a legend to describe each spreadsheet.
- Save each data file with a name that appropriately reflects the content of that file.
- Deposit each table that is part of the dataset as a separate file.
- Deposit each worksheet as a separate file.
DO NOT
- Embed charts, comments or tables within a spreadsheet.
- Use color coding (machine-based data mining cannot interpret this).
- Include special (i.e. non alphanumeric) characters within the spreadsheet, including commas.
- Use merged cells.
- Deposit multiple worksheets within a spreadsheet (such as those used in Microsoft Excel), as these are not supported by CSV and TAB formats.
Spreadsheets should be deposited in CSV or TAB format; EXCEPT if the spreadsheet contains variable
labels, code labels, or defined missing values, as these should be deposited in SAV, SAS or POR
format, with the variable defined in English.
2.1.2 Software source code
All articles should include details of any software that is required to view the datasets described
or to replicate the analysis. For all software used, please state the version used, details of
where the software can be accessed, and any variable parameters that could impact the outcome of
the results.
Where software has been coded by the authors of the article, the source code should be made
available. If there are ethical or privacy considerations as to why the source code may not be made
available, please contact the editorial team.
2.2. Select a Repository
Where it is possible to do so, data should be deposited in a stable and recognised open
repository under a CC BY or CC0 license prior to article submission. Please check that the
DOI(s) and/or accession number(s) you provide us are publicly available.
In line with European Commission policies, Open Research Europe strongly encourages the use of certified repositories or trusted community-recognised repositories as the first choice for depositing data. We recommend that you make use of repositories endorsed by the research community in particular fields, such as, for example, repositories related to ELIXIR (for life sciences) or CESSDA or DARIAH (for Social Sciences and the Humanities, respectively), as well relevant federated infrastructure such as EUDAT. Also closely consult any Data Management Plans completed in relation to the research.
For some
data types, such as genetic sequences and protein structures, it is essential that the data are
deposited in GenBank and Protein Data Bank, respectively. For X-ray crystal structures, please also
submit your validation reports.
Where a community-recognised repository does not exist, prepare the files according to the guidelines above and submit to a general data repository (such as Zenodo), institutional repository, or national repository. Please include descriptive legends and, where applicable, coding schemas alongside your datasets.
Some types of data benefit from visualization within the article. Open Research Europe welcomes the
submission of articles featuring Plot.ly interactive figures and Code Ocean compute capsules. Videos and images can be displayed through a widget provided by Figshare. If you think your dataset would benefit from visualisation, please contact us. We will then advise whether such visualization is suitable for your data.
2.2.1 Non-exhaustive list of Open Research Europe-approved
repositories
Below is a list of repositories that have already been approved for hosting data alongside an
Open Research Europe article.
In addition to this list, Open Research Europe can accept articles with the underlying data being hosted by a certified or trusted repository, including national repositories and institutional repositories such as the CERN Open Data Portal.
General data, research materials and supporting documents
| Data Type | Where to submit* | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| Any | B2Share† | Title, DOI |
| Any | Dryad | Title, DOI |
| Any, but especially data in SAV and POR formats | Dataverse | Title, DOI |
| Any | Figshare$ | Title, DOI |
| Any, but especially deposits with mixed data, materials and documents | Open Science Framework† | Title, DOI |
| Any, but especially deposits with mixed data and code | Zenodo | Title, DOI |
| Deposits of mixed data and code | Code Ocean | Title, DOI, embed code for interactive reanalysis tool |
| Any biological data, but especially data linked to studies in other databases | BioStudies | Title, accession number |
| Research materials | Any appropriate public repository, such as Addgene, American Type Culture Collection, Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center, Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center, Caenorhabditis Genetics Center, DSMZ, European Conditional Mouse Mutagenesis Program, European Mouse Mutant Archive, Knockout Mouse Project, Jackson Laboratory, Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Centers, PlasmID and RIKEN Bioresource Centre | Accession number(s) or unique identifier(s) |
* Please note that many repositories have a limit on the size (usually 2 or 5 GB) of single file
uploads and charge for larger data files.
$ If you think your data are suitable for visualization within your article through the Figshare viewer, please contact us.
† Deposits must be made public and your project must be registered to ensure that a record will remain persistent and unchangeable.
$ If you think your data are suitable for visualization within your article through the Figshare viewer, please contact us.
† Deposits must be made public and your project must be registered to ensure that a record will remain persistent and unchangeable.
Software & source code
| Data Type | Where to submit* | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| Latest source code | GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket | URL |
| Archived source code | Zenodo | Title, DOI and license* used |
| Deposits of mixed data and code | Code Ocean | Title, DOI, embed code for interactive reanalysis tool |
| Software | Authors may host software where they wish, though it is strongly recommended to use a stable URL | URL |
* An open license must be assigned and we strongly advise authors to use an OSI-approved license.
3D-printable models
| Data Type | Where to submit | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| All 3D-printable models (including molecular, cellular, medical/anatomical and labware models) | NIH 3D Print Exchange | Title, model ID, URL |
Health data (restricted access to protect anonymity of participants possible)
| Data Type | Where to submit | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| Addiction and HIV data | National Addiction & HIV Data Archive Program | Title, DOI, Route of access |
| Cancer imaging | Cancer Imaging Archive | Title, DOI, Route of access |
| Cancer-related clinical trial data | Project Datasphere | Title, DOI, Route of access |
| Clinical trial data | Vivli | Title, DOI, Route of access |
Humanities and social science data
| Data Type | Where to submit | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| Any | Any appropriate CESSDA repository | Title, DOI |
| Any | DANS-EASY* | Title, DOI |
| Any, but reserved for ISCPR member institutions | Open ICPSR | Title, DOI |
| Any | UK Data Archive* | Title, DOI |
| Arts and humanities data | Any appropriate DARIAH recommended repository | Title, DOI |
| Social and economic data | UK Data Service | Title, DOI |
| Linguistics data | TalkBank | Title, DOI |
| Language data | Any appropriate CLARIN repository | Title, DOI |
| Archaeology data | ADS UK | Title, DOI |
| Demographic data | DSDR | Title, DOI |
* Deposits must be open access.
Transcript data
Qualitative data resulting from recordings of interviews or focus group discussions should be anonymised by redaction and uploaded to a general data repository (see above). If it is not possible to anonymise the data sufficiently by redaction, a restricted route of data access should be provided by the authors and a comprehensive statement must be added to the Data Availability section of the article (see below for data that cannot be shared). If the transcript data cannot be shared under any circumstances, please contact the editorial team, who will be able to advise you.
| Data Type | Where to submit | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| Any | Any appropriate CESSDA repository | Title, DOI |
| Any | DANS-EASY* | Title, DOI |
Chemical and macromolecular structures
| Data Type | Where to submit | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| 3D protein structures | Protein Data Bank | PDB number |
| Crystallography* | Crystallography Open Database | COD ID |
| X-ray images | Coherent X-ray Imaging Data Bank | Title, DOI |
| Electron Microscopy | Electron Microscopy Data Resource (EMDB) | Accession number(s) |
| NMR Spectroscopy | Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank (BMRB) | Accession number(s) |
| Chemical structures, annotations and associated bioassay test results | PubChem | CID(s) |
| Chemical structures, spectra and syntheses | ChemSpider | ChemSpider ID |
* X-ray crystallography validation reports should be submitted (as a PDF) directly to Open
Research Europe via the submission system.
Neuroimaging data
| Data Type | Where to submit | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| Raw fMRI datasets | OpenfMRI | Title and accession number(s) |
| MRI and PET unthresholded statistical maps | NeuroVault* | Title and URL (which includes a unique data ID) |
* Please note that authors will still be expected to deposit their raw neuroimaging data in an
appropriate repository. Also, once submitted, administrative powers will be transferred to Open Research Europe. This is necessary to ensure stability of the dataset; this transfer does not affect
the CC0 license assigned to all NeuroVault submissions.
Sequence and omics data
| Data Type | Where to submit | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| Expression and sequence data (including Nucleotide / protein sequence,
microarray, SNP / SNV, GWAS, phenotype or sequence-based reagent data)
Systems and chemical biology data (including chemical entities, chemical reactions, computational models, metabolic profiles, or molecular interactions) |
Any appropriate NCBI, EBI or Elixir Deposition Database repository* | Accession number(s). For SNP / SNV data please provide HGVS name(s), local ID(s) and rs / ss number(s) |
* Some higher-level repositories, such as BioProject, provide access to data deposited in various
archival databases. In these cases, please cite the accession numbers that are assigned to the data
submissions by the archival databases in addition to the higher-level identifier.
Physics
| Data Type | Where to submit | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| High Energy Physics | HEPData | Title, DOI |
Materials Science
| Data Type | Where to submit | What to include in the data availability section of your article |
| Ab initio electronic structures | NOMAD Repository | Title, DOI |
| Computational, but especially calculations with full provenance | Materials Cloud | Title, DOI |
2.3 Add a Data Availability Statement to Your Article
All articles must include a Data Availability statement, even where there is no data associated with the article. This statement should be added to the end of the article prior to submission. The Data Availability statement should not refer readers or reviewers to contact an author to obtain the data, but should instead include the applicable details listed below.
No associated or additional data
For articles which have no associated data, the statement should read:
“No data are associated with this article.”
For articles where all associated data are presented in the article itself, please include the
statement:
“All data underlying the results are available as part of the article and no additional
source data are required.”
Repository-hosted data
Where underlying and/or extended data are hosted in a repository, please include the name of the
repository used and the license along with details indicated in the ‘What to include in the
data availability section of your article’ column in the tables
above. This should be done in the style of, for example:
Repository: Manually annotated miRNA-disease and miRNA-gene interaction corpora.
https://doi.org/10.5256/repository.4591.d34639.
This project contains the following underlying data:
- Data file 1. (Description of data.)
- Data file 2. (Description of data.)
Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Zero "No rights reserved" data waiver (CC0 1.0 Public domain dedication).
Where data are held in a structured, subject-specific repository, the following example would be appropriate:
NCBI Gene: Ihe1 intestinal helminth expulsion 1 [ Mus musculus (house mouse) ]. Accession number 107537.
Each dataset mentioned in the article, including those in the Data Availability statement, must
also be referenced using a formal data citation.
For more information on how to structure the Data Availability section, please see our Article Guidelines.
Data that cannot be shared
Exceptions
In these instances, an extensive metadata record describing the research, where it is stored, and how to access it should be deposited openly in a repository and cited in the Data Availability statement (please see Repository-hosted data above). Metadata records must adhere to any legal or ethical requirements. Metadata records must not contain data that is protected, confidential, secure, or personal.
An obligation to protect results
Where data protection is possible, reasonable, and justified (e.g. through patents, commercial or industrial exploitation, etc.), authors may be asked to provide evidence of this. The article must include a description of the restrictions on the data and all necessary information required for a reader or reviewer to apply for access to the data and the conditions under which access will be granted - or the PID of an open and FAIR metadata record containing this information.
For more information on this exception, please see H2020 MGA article 27.
Confidentiality obligations
Where data has been identified as confidential, authors may be asked to provide evidence of this. The article must include a description of the restrictions on the data and all necessary information required for a reader or reviewer to apply for access to the data and the conditions under which access will be granted - or the PID of an open and FAIR metadata record containing this information.
For more information on this exception, please see H2020 MGA article 36.
Security obligations
Where data is classified or there are security concerns, authors may be asked to provide evidence of this. The article must include a description of the restrictions on the data and all necessary information required for a reader or reviewer to apply for access to the data and the conditions under which access will be granted - or the PID of an open and FAIR metadata record containing this information.
For more information on this exception, please see H2020 MGA article 37.
An obligation to protect personal data
Personal data must be processed in compliance with applicable EU and national law on data protection. Where human data cannot be sufficiently de-identified, please include: an explanation of the data protection concern; what, if anything, the relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent said about data sharing; and, where applicable, all necessary information required for a reader or reviewer to apply for access to the data and the conditions under which access will be granted - or the PID of an open and FAIR metadata record containing this information.
For more information on this exception, please see H2020 MGA article 39.
Jeopardy of the achievement of the main objective
Where data cannot be shared because it would jeopardize the achievement of the main objective of the H2020 project from which the research data derives, authors may be asked to provide evidence of this. The article must include a description of the restrictions on the data and all necessary information required for a reader or reviewer to apply for access to the data and the conditions under which access will be granted - or the PID of an open and FAIR metadata record containing this information.
For more information on this exception, please see H2020 MGA article 29.3.
Large data
Where data is too large to be feasibly hosted by a repository approved by Open Research Europe, please include all necessary information required for a reader or reviewer to access the data alongside a description of this process - or the PID of an open and FAIR metadata record containing this information.
Data under license by a third party
In cases where data has been obtained from a third party and restrictions apply to the availability of the data, the article must include: all necessary information required for a reader or reviewer to access the data by the same means as the authors; and publicly available data that is representative of the analysed dataset and can be used to apply the methodology described in the article (please see Repository-hosted data above).
If you are unable to share your data for any reason not included here, or have additional questions about data sharing, please let our editorial team know and we will be happy to advise.
2.4 Link Your Datasets to Your Article
Once your article is published, we strongly advise that you update your repository project with the DOI for your article, which will be emailed to you upon article publication. Linking your data to your article will enable your data and article to be reciprocally connected, ensuring you receive credit for your work.