Figshare

Figshare, an online digital repository for academic research, has launched a tool that enables authors to share their research outputs more efficiently during the publishing process.

Springer Nature is the first publisher to pilot this new data submission portal and has worked closely with Figshare to build a customised service to support open research. The tool will reduce the amount of information authors must complete to share data supporting their publications.

Iain Hrynaszkiewicz, head of data publishing at Springer Nature, said: 'We know that many researchers are motivated to share their data but are often faced with challenges in doing so. As a publisher we want to advance discovery and drive the development of open research by supporting data sharing and accessibility. By working closely with Figshare we hope this new tool will make it even easier for our authors to share their research outputs.'

Mark Hahnel, CEO of Figshare, added: 'In our State of Open Data report, three quarters of all researchers, whether by mandate or not, state they have made their data sets open and available and value a data citation as much as an article citation. We have been working jointly with Springer Nature to make sure this new service will allow researchers to make their data more easily discoverable and reusable, something researchers consider as core to the furthering of research.'

Springer Nature is using the new tool to support its new Data Support Services, where research data editors carry out checks on submitted research outputs, advise authors on how best to link the files to their articles, and coordinate publication of their data. The new portal, and Springer Nature’s service, will be developed further in response to usage and feedback.

Figshare says authors who use the data submission portal will:

•     Save time and effort needed to deposit and curate data and link data to publications;
•     Promote citation and reuse of their data;
•     Enhance and increase visibility of their peer reviewed publications;
•     More easily comply with data policies of funding agencies and institutions;
•     Contribute to more rapid scientific progress and increased reproducibility; and
•     Be able to share a wider variety of their research data files in conjunction with their articles.

The data submission portal is available now to support authors of six BMC journals: BMC Biology, BMC Research Notes, BMC Neuroscience, BMC Plant Biology, BMC Evolutionary Biology and BMC Genomics, who wish to openly share their larger supplementary data files. Springer Nature expects to rollout to more journals following this pilot phase.  To find out more about this offering, email: Figshare at info@figshare.com or Springer Nature at researchdata@springernature.com.