Research data FAQs
FAQs
Research data. The precise notion of what constitutes research data will differ from field to field, but broadly speaking it refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings. Some examples of research data include: raw data, processed data, software and algorithms. This policy does not apply to text in manuscript or final published article form, nor to data or other materials submitted and published as part of a journal article.
No. Our policy is clear in that we encourage and support authors to share their research data rather than mandating them to do so, and provide tools and services to enable them to do this effectively. Where there is community support for (often discipline-specific) mandates regarding data deposit, submission and sharing, some of our journals may reflect this with their own mandatory data sharing policies. Please check your journal’s guide for authors for specific information.
Yes. Our research data policy sets a framework for how we can and will support researchers to make their research data available. Some journals may adopt their own data sharing policies and these can be found in your journal’s guide for authors.
Yes. When publishing with Elsevier, researchers will be able to make their research data freely accessible, for example, by depositing research data in Mendeley Data Wird in neuem Tab/Fenster geöffnet, where it will be published under your choice of reuse license and linked to your journal article. We can also link your article to your dataset stored in a domain-specific repository.
No. Authors can deposit their research data in a repository of their choice. We collaborate with over 60 domain-specific repositories where we establish links between the published article and deposited research data to enhance discoverability. See example repositories.
Researchers’ added value in collecting research data and making this available should be recognized through agreed data citation practices. Costs may also be incurred by others from activities such as the storage, management and curation of research data, and there may also be costs associated with the preservation of data which may need to be recouped.
No. We respect authors who need to keep research data under embargo. You can do this either in a repository of your choice or also via Mendeley Data Wird in neuem Tab/Fenster geöffnet.
We believe that researchers are best placed to decide how their research data should be made available and we, therefore, offer a choice of licenses within Mendeley Data to support this. These include:
For authors choosing to deposit in a domain-specific repository, the choice of license will depend on the repository.
In general, Elsevier does not count research data deposit as prior publication. Journal policies, however, may vary and we recommend that researchers check the guide for authors or contact the editor if they are in doubt.
By assigning your dataset with a unique DOI, it keeps this separate from your published article. This means other researchers can not only cite your article, but also ensure you get recognized for the work you put into collecting and recording your data. We are currently rolling out data citation standards for all of our journals.