Research Data and Reports (RDR) FAQ
- What are Data and reports articles?
Data and reports describe research data and reports that the authors have publicly made available through this repository to support the research community in a more efficient and transparent research process. These articles confirm that the raw data, which is often dumped as supplementary material or unpublished, is peer-reviewed, curated, formatted, indexed, given a DOI, and made open access after publication. It will not include any interpretation of the data.
- Does Research Data and Reports publish only data and reports?
No. Research Data and Reports also publish original journal articles based on research, review papers, case studies, and technical notes that contribute to increasing the knowledge of the practicing people and the scientific community in general. RDR also publishes pre-prints for broad, fast, and early dissemination of research findings before submitting them as a journal manuscript, which allows the author to receive rapid feedback on their work. Please refer to our Author Guidelines for more details.
- Why does RDR provide a fixed template for data articles?
The template for data articles is provided to make it uniform and was decided after discussing with the editorial board about what essential information should be given in a data article and how this information should be presented in order to make data easy to find and easy to understand. You can find the data article template on our journal homepage.
- What types of data and reports are present?
Data and reports refer to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings, which may also include software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods, and other useful materials related to the project. RDR will not accept any submissions that contain insufficient details about the variables or samples.
- I have already published a research article; why should I publish a data article?
Your research can be divided into two components: (1) the data that supports your research article but is not published or copyrighted as a part of that research article, and (2) the research/journal article that contains an interpretation of the data. Research articles are focused on interpretation, and therefore, the details behind your data are dumped as supplementary materials, not benefitting the research community fully. A data article brings these details to the forefront, making your data easy to analyze, cite, and reproduce. The data can be open and useful to researchers from various fields.
- Is it mandatory to convert the supplementary data (or a part of it) into a data article?
It is not mandatory. The advantage of publishing the supplementary data as a data article is that it will receive a DOI, making it citable and reproducible. If you decide to convert your supplementary material into a data article, this material must be removed from the supplement of the original research article. This request may be submitted to the journal manager of the journal in which it was published.
- How much are the publication fees?
We are not charging any publication fees or article processing charges (APC). See the journal’s open-access page for the updates.
- Does RDR require that all referenced data be available in a public repository?
Depends on the author’s requirements. It is better that all data described in an article submitted to RDR is made publicly available in a repository that grants an identifier (data identification number, or DOI) to the dataset.
- Are data files in .pdf/.doc format acceptable?
It is recommended to share your data in widely accessible, open-source formats, such as CSV/txt/xlsx/ASCII, instead of formats such as .pdf or .doc, make the data difficult to review, and ensure each column has a heading. This also ensures the reproducibility of your results. If you decide to compress the files, please use an open format, such as a .zip file. For images, please use a reusable format, such as .png/.jpg/.tiff.
- Does RDR publish negative data?
Yes. Negative data—data that are acquired using a scientific method, are produced by the authors, and have value to the research community by giving insights—are welcome for publication in RDR.
- Are questionnaires/survey data accepted in RDR?
Yes. Questionnaires/survey data are accepted in RDR when they are unambiguous, unbiased, and include the relevant demographic information. The sampling method should be specified and should have quality indicators and statistical validation details. RDR requires the questionnaires/surveys and consent forms in English. It is recommended that you upload a copy of the questionnaires/surveys and the consent form to the repository.
- How do I submit a data or journal article?
Refer to our Author Guidelines for details.
- Is it permitted to include figures and tables from the original research article in a data/journal article?
RDR does not accept figures and tables from an already published research article. If it is absolutely necessary to include such figures and tables, you have to obtain the copyright from the original journal to republish these and mention the original source in the table heading/figure legend in the data/journal article.
- My institutional email account will expire soon. Can I provide my personal email ID for correspondence?
An institutional email ID is preferred for correspondence. Personal email accounts can also be included, generally as a secondary email ID.
- Whether data articles peer-reviewed?
Yes, data articles are sent for peer review to ensure that the data and their descriptions are thoroughly scrutinized before publication.
- How do I link my data article to my original research?
You can submit both at the same time directly to RDR’s submission system. Ensure you reference your original research article in the template so that the data article is linked via the reference list in the data article.
- What are the ethical requirements for publication in RDR?
Authors must ensure that they have read and followed the ethical requirements for publication in RDR (ethics in publishing). Moreover, if the work involves the use of human subjects, animal experiments, or data gathered using social media, the authors need to ensure that the research follows the guidelines, as highlighted in RDR’s Guide for Authors. Please see the RDR’s article template for further details.