Handling Research Data – Guidelines for Authors
Journal Monitor ISH supports open access to research data, which form the foundation of modern scientific research.
About Research Data
Research data are data obtained through various methods for the purpose of understanding, verifying or confirming hypotheses and drawing conclusions, which were created or processed in the course of research. They exist in various formats: notes, interviews, photographs, transcriptions, numerical research data, computer program records, etc. When data are not recorded/stored in digital form, it is advisable to assess whether such material can be digitised, thereby facilitating its storage in a data repository. A data repository enables the storage of and access to various types of data (e.g. research data, public sector data, etc.) and accompanying documentation.
Data accessibility increases the transparency and verifiability of research findings and enhances their usability in future research, thereby increasing the return on investment in already collected data. Sharing data can contribute to the career development of researchers, as it increases the visibility of their work and enables them to collaborate with new partners.
Policy on Mandatory Citation of Research Data
In accordance with the Regulation on the Implementation of Scientific Research Work, the journal's funder (the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency) requires the editorial board to ensure that authors provide open access to the research data used in the preparation of an article prior to publication. Data must be prepared in accordance with the FAIR principles (findability, accessibility, interoperability, reusability).
Exceptions to Fully Open Access
There are, however, cases in which data cannot be shared in a fully open manner for legal, ethical or other justified reasons – for example, when personal data subject to protection are involved (see the EU General Data Protection Regulation), when the material includes trade secrets or other commercial information governed by legislation, or when the data present security risks. The Regulation understands open access to research data and other results from co-funded research in accordance with the principle of "as open as possible, as closed as necessary".
List of Trusted Repositories
Authors must publish their research data in trusted data repositories, archives or centres that provide appropriate access regimes. The trusted repositories recommended by the journal's funder are published here.
The journal's editorial board recommends that Slovenian researchers publish their research data in Slovenian trusted repositories, such as:
- Repository of Independent Higher Education Institutions [hyperlink to: https://revis.openscience.si/info/index.php/slo/]
- Social Science Data Archives
- University of Ljubljana Repository
- Digital Library of the University of Maribor
- University of Primorska Repository
- University of Nova Gorica Repository
- Slovenian Research Infrastructure for Language Resources and Technologies (CLARIN.SI)
- Digital Repository of Slovenian Research Organisations (DiRROS)
Other authors can search for an appropriate data repository using online tools such as https://fairsharing.org or https://www.re3data.org. They need only verify that the data repository is also listed by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency, which co-funds the journal. We recommend using the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licence or equivalent licences when publishing research data.
Citing Research Data
Authors must appropriately cite all data sources used, in accordance with the repository's guidelines and the citation style used by the journal (Chicago), or provide an appropriate description in the data access statement if the data have not been digitised or are not published due to other restrictions (e.g. the Personal Data Protection Act (ZVOP-2)). A link to the published research data (e.g. DOI, PID) should necessarily be included in the article's reference list and also in a footnote where appropriate.
Obligations of Authors, Editors and Reviewers
During the article submission process, authors will be required to ensure that research data are accessible at least to editors and reviewers. Upon publication of the article, the final version of the research data must be published in an appropriate data repository. It is the editor's responsibility to assess whether the article has been prepared on the basis of research data (the author's own or those of others). If the editor determines that such data exist and have not been appropriately cited by the author, the editor is obliged to notify the author to supplement their article. The same obligation applies to the journal's reviewers.
Additional Information
For further clarification, authors may contact the data steward at their institution or get in touch with the journal's editorial board (press@almamater.si) or the relevant support institutions for research data management.
