Demystifying Data Journals: Experiences of Data Journal Editors

Data journals are a format of publication that publish datasets or ‘data papers’ rather than conventional research articles. They offer a route to increase the visibility of research data outputs whilst also rewarding creators with a peer-reviewed publication, credit, and increased opportunity for citation (Walters, 2020).

The event was delivered by the N8 Centre of Excellence in Computationally Intensive Research (N8 CIR) and will be useful to anyone with an interest in learning more about data journals.

Walters, W.H. (2020) ‘Data journals: incentivizing data access and documentation within the scholarly communication system’, Insights: the UKSG journal, 33(1), p. 18. DOI: 10.1629/uksg.510

This online event featured presentations from researchers involved in editing data journals from a range of disciplines, in both STEM and the humanities, who shared their experiences and advice with attendees. The concept of data journals and how they operate was introduced and best practices when submitting papers to these journals or developing data journal publications. was explored.

Watch presentations from the meeting on our YouTube site.

Editorial Board Member for the Research Data Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Vanessa Higgins is Professor of Data Literacy in the Social Sciences within the Department of Social Statistics and Cathie Marsh Institute, University of Manchester. Vanessa is the Service Director of Training and User Support, a member of the Senior Leadership Group and Co-Investigator for the UK Data Service. She is the strategic lead for the UK Data Service programme of training events, online training resources, and user support for researchers and lecturers using the quantitative and qualitative data hosted by the UK Data Service. In addition to this Vanessa is Editorial Board Member for the Research Data Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Editor, Internet Archaeology

Judith Winters has been the editor of Internet Archaeology - one of the oldest peer-reviewed journals in the field - for over 25 years. She has overseen its evolution from an ambitious experimental project into a peer-reviewed journal embracing data-rich, interactive scholarship. She ensured the journal transitioned to a fully Open Access model in 2014. Judith is based within the Archaeology department at the University of York.

Editorial Board, Scientific Data

Dr Derek Gatherer, is a lecturer based in the biomedical and life sciences department at Lancaster University. Derek originally trained as a molecular biologist before moving into bioinformatics during his time at Liverpool John Moores University. After roles in both the pharmaceutical industry and the UK Medical Research Council, he returned to academia, publishing numerous research outputs, including the pop‑science book BioFutures and the Legacy of Our Past. He is a lecturer at Lancaster University, a Fellow of the Centre for Social Futures, and since 2023 has served on the editorial board of Scientific Data, where he handles genome and language dataset submissions.

Section Editor for PLOS Digital Health and Associate Editor for JASIST

Dr. Laura Sbaffi is a Senior Lecturer in Health Informatics at the University of Sheffield’s School of Information, Journalism and Communication. Laura researches the information needs of marginalised populations, including ethnic minorities, older adults and LGBTQ+ communities, with a current focus on the social care initiatives supporting unpaid caregivers and individuals with low health literacy.

Laura serves as the Europe and Africa Chair for the iSchools Organization. Her editorial contributions include serving as Section Editor for PLOS Digital Health and Associate Editor for JASIST. At Sheffield, she is currently the Postgraduate Research Lead, following her tenure as the Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.