Efficient data management for economics journals
The ZBW Journal Data Archive: Promoting replicable economic research
In today’s often data-driven economic research landscape, many scientific journals face the challenge of ensuring the reproducibility and transparency of scientific work. There is often a lack of suitable infrastructures to efficiently manage the data sets on which the published research results are based and make them permanently accessible. This not only makes it more difficult to trace research, but also reduces its visibility, slows down the scientific discovery process and reduces the value of research for the scientific community and society.
The ZBW Journal Data Archive (JDA) offers a solution here. Specially developed for specialist journals in the fields of economics and management, the ZBW Journal Data Archive enables simple and efficient management of replication data. By linking data records with the corresponding publications, the transparency of scientific work is significantly improved. The service makes the work of editorial offices easier by having the technical requirements completely taken over by the ZBW’s information specialists.
Advantages of the ZBW Journal Data Archive
- Efficient management of replication data: The management of replication data is considerably simplified for the editorial teams of specialist journals. They do not have to worry about maintaining their own server for the data, but can concentrate on their editorial tasks, while the technical aspects are handled entirely by the professionals at the ZBW. This saves time and reduces the technical effort.
- Raising the scientific standard: Articles published with replication data emphasise the high scientific standard of a journal. Therefore, replication packages are increasingly becoming a standard requirement in scientific publishing, which improves the transparency and reproducibility of research.
- Increased visibility and credibility: Linking articles with the corresponding data sets contributes to the increased visibility of the journal and its publications.
- Promoting research ethics and replicability: The introduction of a data availability policy in conjunction with the ZBW Journal Data Archive emphasises the journal’s commitment to scientific integrity and replicability. This creates trust among readers, as they can rely on the quality and transparency of the published research results. At the same time, this approach protects the journal from scientific misconduct and strengthens trust in the published findings.
FAQ: Data submission to the ZBW Journal Data Archive
- How does a journal start the process of submitting data to the Journal Data Archive?
To start the submission process, the journal only needs to register the corresponding author of empirical papers, simulations or experimental research (depending on the journal’s data policy) with their email address in the Journal Data Archive. - What happens after the corresponding author has registered?
The corresponding author will receive a registration email asking him/her to submit the replication files. This includes data, programme code, descriptions or other materials required by the journal’s research data policy. - How will I be notified when the data submission is complete?
As soon as the corresponding author has uploaded all the required files, the journal’s editorial team is automatically notified by the Journal Data Archive that the data submission has been completed. - What role does the editorial team play after data submission?
The editorial team checks whether the submitted files fulfil the requirements of the journal’s data policy. If the requirements are met, the editorial team enters metadata such as volume, issue, page numbers and the URL or DOI of the research article (from the publisher’s website) into the Journal Data Archive. - Can a DOI be created for the submitted data?
Yes, once the review process has been completed, the editorial team can create a DOI for the replication data. This DOI refers to the landing page of the replication files in the Journal Data Archive and can also be included in the printed version of the journal before the data is published. - What advantages does the Journal Data Archive offer publishers?
Publishers do not have to set up or maintain their own repository infrastructure for supplementary data, as the Journal Data Archive takes over this service. - Why is a data repository in the Journal Data Archive better than attaching files to the research article?
A data repository offers a better solution because the authors of the data can be acknowledged through citations, which is not possible when simply attaching files. In addition, the visibility of the data submission is increased and the data can be found as a separate scientific achievement by search engines and scientific portals. - What are the advantages of assigning a DOI to the data?
By assigning a DOI, the connection to the data is permanently ensured so that the data can be reliably cited and retrieved.
Technical basis
The ZBW Journal Data Archive is technically based on CKAN, one of the world’s leading open source software solutions for the provision of open data. CKAN makes it possible to efficiently store and manage data records and link them to the corresponding publications.
Video tutorial:
A six-minute video tutorial in English can be viewed here.
*The text was written on 23 October 2024.
This text was translated on 20 January 2025 using DeeplPro.