Storing research data in a data repository ensures that data is well documented and easily accessible to others, with a minimum of effort. It can make it easier for you or other members of the same institution to use the data in the future. If the dataset is multifaceted, comprehensive or valuable in another sense for the research community and/or if the research results are “negative”, it can be interesting to publish the dataset in a data journal. A data journal publication consists of a detailed description of the dataset and links to the data described.

Further options are attaching data to a preprint or the publication of dataset descriptions as micropublications via publication platforms. It’s important to bear in mind generally that data that are shared as supplementary materials are more difficult to find and to integrate. The supplementary materials generally do not receive their own DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and are not given metadata.

You can find out “How to link your own paper and the analysis efficiently” in worksheet 5 from the worksheet series of the Open Science Magazine of the ZBW.