(12 Apr 2022) Springer Nature and Figshare have launched a free pilot to better support authors in making their data openly available. Authors submitting to a number of Nature research journals and Academic Journals will now be able to easily opt into data sharing, via Figshare, as part of one integrated submission process.
The availability of data is central to open science and integral to the reproducibility of research and therefore the advancement of knowledge. Research on the impact of data sharing shows that when data is openly available, articles receive over 25% more citations. However, despite the positive impact of sharing data and willingness from authors, less than 40% actually make their data available. Reasons for this include a lack of understanding, difficulties in how to deposit data, convoluted processes, or challenges around correctly linking data and articles.
This pilot builds on a longstanding commitment from Springer Nature to open data – including automatic deposition of supplementary Information for BMC and SpringerOpen journals, enhanced curation support for authors and integration at our flagship data journal Scientific Data.
The pilot will initially include Nature research journals and Academic Journals portfolios, across the fields of neuroscience, ecology and evolution, chemistry, energy, cancer and transplantation. Working closely with researchers throughout, the pilot will explore and test out more integrated ways for data sharing.
The press release is here.
