Publisher interest towards a role for journals in data-sharing: The findings of the JoRD project

The sharing of the data generated by research projects is increasingly being recognised as an academic priority by funders, researchers and STM publishers. The topic has been discussed by national and international organisations, for example, ICSU (the International Council for Science), [1] the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) [2] and the UK’s Royal Society [3]. The public statements that emerge from these scientific bodies call for both research transparency and freely available access to research data created with public funding for possible re-use. The issue of the policies on sharing set out by academic journals has been raised by scientific organisations, such as the US National Academy of Sciences, which urges journals to make clear statements of their sharing policies. On the other hand, the publishing community whilst broadly supporting the principle of open and accessible research data expresses concerns over the intellectual property implications of archiving shared data.The JoRD Project was a feasibility study on the possible shape of a central service on journal research data policies, funded by the UK JISC under its Managing Data Research Programme. It was carried out by the Centre for Research Communications Research at Nottingham University (UK) with contributions from the Research Information Network and Mark Ware Consulting Ltd. The project used a mix of methods to examine the scope and form of a sustainable, international service that would collate and summarise journal policies on research data for the use of researchers, managers of research data and other stakeholders. The purpose of the service would be to provide a ready reference source of easily accessible, standardised, accurate and clear guidance and information, on the journal policy landscape relating to research data. The specific objectives of the study were: to identify the current state of journal data sharing policies; to investigate the views and practices of stakeholders; to develop an overall view of stakeholder requirements and possible service specifications; to explore the market base for a JoRD Policy Bank Service; and to investigate and recommend sustainable business models for the development of a JoRD Policy Bank Service