Here you can find answers to frequently asked questions about the Springer Nature Research Data Policies. The FAQs are divided in to three main categories:

If you have a question that is not answered by the below, please contact the Springer Nature Research Data Helpdesk for further assistance.

Part 1: Questions about the data policies

1. What are the different types of standard data sharing policies?

The data sharing policies are arranged into four types with a different set of features and requirements for each type. See the policy table for more information:

● Mandatory     ◐ Optional     ○ Not Required

2. Is software included in the data availability policies?

The focus of this policy framework is on data rather software but the sharing of software is also important. Many Springer Nature journals, including BioMed Central and Nature journals have policies applicable to software. We will be considering Springer Nature-wide policies on software availability in the future.

3. Are materials included in the policies?

No. Materials, such as reagents, samples and cell culture collections are not generally included in the data availability policies. The sharing of materials is however important, and many Springer Nature journals, including BioMed Central and Nature journals, have policies applicable to materials. We will be considering Springer Nature-wide policies on materials availability in the future.

4. What data do the data policies apply to?

Research data can take many forms, across the many fields of research covered by journals and books published by Springer Nature. The data sharing policies in general concern the minimal dataset that supports the central findings of a published study. Specific publications and communities may have more specific standards and definitions, however.

5. Do the policies apply to sensitive or personal data and data subject to third party restrictions?

The policies apply to all research that support publications but reasonable restrictions on data availability are permitted to protect human privacy, biosafety or respect reasonable terms of use for data obtained under license from third parties. Our Research Data Helpdesk can provide general advice on publishing articles about different kinds of sensitive data. Also see our guidance on Data Availability Statements or consult, for example, published guidance on managing research data, data anonymisation, and linking sensitive data to publications.

6. Which journals do these policies apply to?

We are encouraging all Springer Nature journals, open access and subscription access, across all imprints to adopt a standard research data sharing policy. Each journal’s policy will be shown in its submission guidelines.

7. Is data sharing mandatory for every article?

No, only journals with a type 4 policy mandate public data archiving for every article. The minimum requirement of all policy types is to encourage data sharing via repositories. All policy types recognise that some data, such as data about identifiable human research participants, cannot be shared openly.

8. When are these policies being introduced?

Springer Nature Journals will begin introducing one of the standard data sharing policies from the second quarter of 2016.

9. Why have four different types of data policy?

While access to and reuse of research data is widely accepted to benefit research, different research communities are at different stages of readiness to share research data. This can depend on numerous factors including academic culture and practice and the type of data and resources, such as data repositories, available to the research community and their journals. The different types of policy aim to account for these differences while providing a common framework, and encourage good practice on data sharing.

10. Is the type (1, 2, 3 or 4) of data sharing policy used linked to a publication’s quality?

The type of data sharing policy a publication offers is not determined by journal quality, prestige or Impact Factor. We expect journals to adopt the data sharing policy that is most appropriate for its research community and the resources available to that community, and to encourage good practice.

11. What is a data availability statement?

In general, data availability statements provide a statement about where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. The data policy types 2, 3 and 4 encourage or require the provision of data availability statements. See our data availability statement resource page for more information.

12. Why should I cite research data?

All four types of data policy permit research datasets to be formally cited in article reference lists. Citing and referencing data in publications supports reproducible research, by increasing the transparency and provenance tracking of data generated or analysed during research. Citing data formally in reference lists also helps facilitate the tracking of data reuse and may help assign credit for individuals’ contributions to research. A number of Springer Nature imprints are signatories of the Joint Declaration on Data Citation Principles, which stress the importance of data resources in scientific communication.

13. How do I cite research data?

Where datasets are hosted in public repositories that provide datasets with Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), we encourage these datasets to be formally cited in reference lists. Citations of datasets, when they appear in the reference list, should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite and follow journal style. For example:

Hao, Z., AghaKouchak, A., Nakhjiri, N., Farahmand, A. Global Integrated Drought Monitoring and Prediction System (GIDMaPS) Data sets. figshare. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.853801 (2014)

14. When should data be shared?

Researchers generally have a right of reasonable first use to data generated during their research. Under the policy types 2 and 3, authors are strongly encouraged to make data available as early as possible while respecting research community norms and funder and institution policies. Embargoes on data sharing are common in some communities and permitted under some funder policies. Assuming there are no relevant community or funder policies or mandates requiring sharing within a specific time, then community norms on embargoes and right of first use would prevail under the type 1, 2 and 3 policies. Under the type 2 and 3 policy, secondary researchers are entitled to make reasonable requests for access to data supporting publications. Under the type 4 policy, all data must be shared as a condition of submission to these journals.

15. For which types of research data is data archiving mandatory?

For some types of data, submission to a community-endorsed, public repository is generally mandatory. Mandated data types, and suitable repositories for these, are listed on our repositories page.

16. Who do I contact for more information?

Please contact the Springer Nature Research Data helpdesk for more information.

17. How do I find a suitable data repository?

For guidance we provide examples of repositories across a variety of disciplines for those who may be unsure where to deposit their data. In general, data should be submitted to discipline-specific, community-recognised repositories where possible, or to generalist repositories if no suitable community resource is available. Researchers may contact our helpdesk for further assistance.

Part 2: Questions about data repositories

18. What are the benefits of using data repositories?

Data repositories are generally the preferred way to share research data. Data repositories make data more accessible and discoverable than sharing data via supplementary information files and can enable searching across similar datasets. Repositories also typically provide standardised ways of structuring and identifying data, and support domain-specific data reporting standards.

19. What makes a good data repository?

Data repositories for data supporting peer-reviewed publications generally should:
i. Ensure long-term persistence and preservation of datasets (minimum of 5 years after publication)
ii. Be supported by a research community or research institution
iii. Provide deposited datasets with stable and persistent identifiers, e.g. DataCite, ISTIC or JaLC Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs)
iv. Allow access to data without unnecessary restrictions
v. Provide clear terms of data use and data access (or licence) on each dataset landing page

20. What should I do if my preferred data repository is not listed by Springer Nature?

There are growing numbers of repositories for research data and Springer Nature guidance cannot include every possible one. This need not be a cause for concern, as any repository demonstrating the features of a good repository (see FAQs 20 and 22) may be used for your data.

21. Can institutional repositories be used for data?

Institutional data repositories limit data deposition to those from a specific institution, funder, project or nation, and so we do provide examples of these in our Repository guidance. However, this does not preclude the use of an institutional data repository for data associated with a research article, as long as the repository at minimum provides a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for each data record, and shows the terms of data use and data access on each dataset landing page. (See FAQ 20 for more on what makes a good data repository.)

22. How much does data deposit in repositories cost and who pays?

This depends on the repository but many data repositories do not charge a fee to depositors.

23. How can I make my data in a repository available for double-blind peer review?

We strongly recommend that authorship is blinded in data when a journal operates double-blind peer review. A number of repositories have features to support this - providing peer review access via links that don’t include author information. These links provide private access prior to making the data publicly available.

Examples include:

• figshare: In your account open the relevant item and select ‘Generate private link’ towards the bottom of the screen. See figshare support for further guidance.
• Dryad: During submission, select the ‘Private for Peer Review’ feature - this will present you with a private link. After peer review you can then take your data out of this private mode and submit for curation by the Dryad team. See Dryad support for further guidance.
• Dataverse: In your account open the relevant item and select ‘Private URL’ from the dropdown menu. Access can later be blocked by disabling the link. See Dataverse support for further guidance.

Private links can be shared with the journal team to facilitate peer review, but should not be included in the published article. These links are temporary, do not support persistent access or allow citation of the dataset. The data DOI or other persistent identifier should be included in the published article instead.

Part 3: General questions about sharing data

24. What about copyright and licenses for deposited data?

Where data are held in repositories, this will be guided by the license terms of the repository. In general, where data are freely available online, a license or legal tool that enables the maximum potential for reuse, such as with the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication waiver, is preferred. For more information, BioMed Central hosts a set of FAQs dedicated to open licensing of research data. Supplementary information files (additional files) published across Springer Nature’s journals are freely available online including in our subscription access journals. Springer Nature does not claim intellectual property rights in submitted datasets.

25. Is release of research data ahead of publication considered prior publication?

Many Springer Nature journals and imprints including the Nature journals and BioMed Central journals have established policies on data release ahead of publication making it clear data sharing will not be considered prior publication. Springer Nature strongly supports immediate and early sharing of research data in public health emergencies.

26. How should researchers share “standard datasets” or datasets derived from public domain resources, such as open government websites?

In general, researchers are encouraged to provide information or links to their source data as part of the submission and publication process. Where data are derived from existing datasets or resources and where data license and reuse terms permit, researchers are encouraged to share copies of derived datasets which support the claims in their published manuscripts. We provide template data availability statements to be used in these situations. Individual journals are best placed to advise on specific manuscripts, however.

27. Whose responsibility is it to check authors are permitted to share data as supplementary material or deposit in a data repository?

Researchers can only share data that they are legally permitted to share or publish. In general it is the responsibility of the data depositor (author) to ensure they have the necessary rights or permissions to submit data to a journal or repository. Different repositories and journals have different licence agreements for submitted work which must be reviewed by the authors as part of submission.