ACM International Science Editing Service

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
    • Editing Services
      • Standard Editing
      • Premium Editing
    • Submission Support Services
      • Graphing
      • Custom Illustration
      • Figure Formatting
      • Journal Specific Formatting
      • Manuscript Review
      • Response to Reviewers
      • Cover Letter Writing
    • Promote your research
    • Translation
  • Create Your Order
    • Editing Services
    • Promote your research
  • Payment
  • Information for Authors
  • Resources
    • ACM:Latest News
    • Writing Tips
      • Manuscript Preparation
      • Overleaf
      • Journal Selection
      • Submit an Article
      • Peer-Review
      • Publication Ethics
      • Research Promotion
      • Abstracts
      • Cover Letters
      • Request for Revision
  • Customer Service
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Terms of Service
      • Privacy Policy
      • Disclaimer
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Archives / Reproducibility and data repositories

November 18, 2016 By Teresa Nolan

Reproducibility and data repositories

Reproducibility and data repositories

data repositoryThe scientific method is founded on confirming results through repeat experiments. By replicating the results of a study, researchers can confidently claim the results are a true effect, rather than an anomaly. Even better than this, is the replication of results by independent researchers. Better again, is the replication of results by multiple independent researchers using modified methods, different statistical methods etc., and so on.

This is known as reproducibility. And we are in the middle of a reproducibility crisis [1]. “More than 70% of researchers have tried and failed to reproduce another scientist’s experiments, and more than half have failed to reproduce their own experiments.” [1].

What can be done about reproducibility?

Many labs have taken independent measures to tackle this problem, including getting a third party to repeat the studies, standardizing experimental methods, pre-registration (where researchers submit their hypotheses, design and plans for data analyses to the target journal prior to conducting the experiments, which prevents cherry-picking) [1].

On a wider scale, the consensus among the scientific community for improving reproducibility is to make data sharing mandatory. Data sharing is where researchers make their data publicly available. One of the ways they can do this is by depositing their datasets in online data repositories. This practice allows independent parties to verify findings [2] and promotes a culture of openness and transparency. It also “lowers the barriers to meta-studies and enables web-scale analysis” [2].

To promote this practice, many journals (PLOS One, Nature, The Royal Society, et al.) and funding bodies (NIH, STFC, NERC, Wellcome Trust, et al.) have mandatory data sharing policies.

Data repositories

There are >1500 discipline-specific, institutional and generalist data repositories currently available.

Data types that can be uploaded are wide-ranging, including plain text, simple Excel files, source code, SPSS files, GIS shapefiles, Genome data-specific formats, videos, images etc.

Some repositories also provide digital object identifiers (DOIs) or universal numerical fingerprint (UNFs) for datasets, so researchers can cite the dataset online and put links to their data in later published articles or conference papers [3].

Repositories can be open access, allowing instant searching and downloading of datasets, have restricted access, or closed access.

Most scientists will agree that the development of data repositories has been a significant step forward in tackling the irreproducibility problem. However, with thousands of repositories, searching through and selecting the correct one can be time-consuming for authors.

Fortunately, a registry is now available online. re3data.org currently provides an overview of 1637 data repositories, making it the largest of its kind.

You can search for appropriate repositories using a simple search box or using filters listed in a navigation panel. The list of filters is very comprehensive, covering everything from subject to content type (e.g. images, source code, plain text etc.) to software used (DSpace, DataVerse etc.) to whether or not the uploaded data is openly accessible or restricted.

re3data.org provides you with an overview of each repository, including a short description of the repository, the institutions responsible for funding, the guidelines and policies of the repository, and the technical (e.g. versioning of datasets) and quality (e.g. certificates, audit processes) standards of the repository.

In the fight against irreproducibility, you will be increasingly required to upload your data to repositories. re3data.org can help you select the most appropriate one and save you valuable time.

  1. Baker, M. (2016) 1,500 scientists lift the lid on reproducibility. Nature 533(7604), 452–454.
  2. Taylor, M. (2013) Should research data be publicly available? Elsevier Connect. Weblog. Available at: Elsevier Connect article [Accessed 04 Nov 2016].
  3. Uzwyshyn, R. (2016) Research Data Repositories: The What, When, Why, and How. Information Today, Inc. Weblog. Available at: Information Today article [Accessed 04 Nov 2016].

Filed Under: Archives, Publication Ethics Tagged With: data repository, publicly available, scientists

ACM中国作者语言润色服务

ACM Chinese Author Language Editing Service homepage 国际科学编辑(ISE)已正式与国际计算机协会(ACM)合作为想要投稿到ACM的作者提供专业服务。

Para autores ACM do Brasil

ACM-brazil Se você quiser ver os nossos serviços para autores ACM em Português, clique aqui para visitar o nosso site.

भारतीय लेखकों के लिए सेवाएं

acm-desktopcta-(4) एसोसिएशन फॉर कंप्यूटिंग मशीनरी (एसीएम) के साथ प्रकाशित करने के लिए देख रहे हैं लेखकों को एक समर्पित सेवा प्रदान करने के लिए इंटरनेशनल साइंस एडिटिंग ने एसीएम के साथ भागीदारी की है।

日本からのACM著者

Japanese link 国際科学編集者(ISE)は国際コンピューター協会(ACM)と正式に提携し、ACMへ投稿する作者に専門的なサービスを提供します。

International Science Editing’s Writing Tips

how to respond to reviewers comments

Reviewer comments and how to respond

Reviewer: The English is not good enough for publication Author: Some of the reviewer’s comments were so badly written, how can he be a good judge of English! It’s true that many reviewers do not have English as their first language. Perhaps they found your English was difficult to understand, or perhaps they were afraid […]

Copyright © 2025 · INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE EDITING · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

We’ve updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. These updates address new privacy regulations in Europe and apply to everyone who uses International Science Editing including clients, authors and partners.
Click on Settings to view the list of cookies, the different category headings, and/or change the default settings. Please click on “Accept” to continue to use International Science Editing Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT