14 Open Data
Open data should include all variables, treatment conditions, and observations described in the manuscript, and provide a full account of the procedures used to collect, preprocess, clean, or generate the data. This data should allow for the reproduction of any plots, tables, or analyses reported in the manuscript.
If data are secondary, they should be cited rather than shared directly (see Section 16). Include any information on how others can also obtain the data.
14.1 Tips
14.1.1 Save it in an accessible format
- Use tab-separated value (.tsv) or comma-separated value (.csv) files
- Use UTF-8 (or UTF-16) encoding to avoid problems in an international context (e.g., so characters like ü or é aren't mangled)
Excel is less preferable because of the proprietary format and its tendency to mangle anything that resembles a date. SPSS and other proprietary formats are also not ideal, but data in a proprietary format is better than no data.
14.1.2 Include a codebook
- Beginner: include a text file with each column name and an explanation
- Intermediate: You can include a data dictionary with further info like data type (string, numeric) or possible ranges/values (Buchanan et al., 2021)
-
Intermediate: Use
faux::codebook()to make a machine-readable codebook in PsychDS format - Intermediate: Use the R codebook to include a report with detailed metadata (Horstmann et al., 2020)
14.1.3 Ethical sharing
- Check that you are not sharing any identifiable data (without clear consent), such as names, student ID numbers, postcodes, IP addresses, or uniquely identifying combinations of demographic variables.
- Add a license so others know how they can use the data. See Appendix B for more details. The most common licenses for data are:
- CC-0: Waives all rights and releases work to public domain
- CC-BY: By Attribution, which permits sharing and reuse of the material, for any purpose, as long as the original authors are credited
- CC-BY-SA: By Attribution, with a Share-Alike clause which means that anyone sharing or modifying the original work must release it under the same license
- Practical tips for ethical data sharing (Meyer (2018))
14.1.4 Make it findable
- Use a persistent archive to host your data, like the OSF, figshare, or zenodo. These platforms are free and can give your data a DOI.
- Include the citation info in a README
- Remember to make the data accessible for reviewers before submission. The OSF allows you to create a blinded review-only link.
- Make the data accessible to the public before publication.
- Make sure the paper contains the correct links to the data before publication.