Figshare Launches New Tool for Publishers To Support Open Research

Springer Nature authors can now submit more of their research outputs via a new data submission portal powered by Figshare

27th April 2016: London, UK and New York, USA  — Figshare, an online digital repository for academic research, today launched a new tool that enables authors to share their research outputs more efficiently during the publishing process.

Springer Nature are the first publisher to pilot this new data submission portal and have 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, 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 said: “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 are using the new tool to support their 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.

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
• 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.  If you want to find out more about this offering, email: Figshare at info@figshare.com or Springer Nature at researchdata@springernature.com.

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About Figshare

Figshare is a web-based platform to help academic institutions manage, disseminate and measure the public attention of all their research outputs. The light-touch and user-friendly approach focuses on four key areas: research data management, reporting and statistics, research data dissemination and administrative control. Figshare works with institutions in North America and internationally to help them meet key funder recommendations and to provide world-leading tools to support an open culture of data sharing and collaboration. For more information, visit http://figshare.com and follow @figshare on Twitter.

About Digital Science
Digital Science is a technology company serving the needs of scientific and research communities at key points along the full cycle of research. It invests in and incubates research software companies that simplify the research cycle, making more time for discovery. Its portfolio companies include a host of leading brands including Altmetric, BioRAFT, Figshare, IFI CLAIMS, Labguru, Overleaf, ReadCube, Symplectic, ÜberResearch, Peerwith, GRID, TetraScience and Transcriptic. It is operated by global media company, the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. Visit https://www.digital-science.com and follow @digitalsci on Twitter.

About Springer Nature
Springer Nature advances discovery by publishing robust and insightful research, supporting the development of new areas of knowledge and making ideas and information accessible around the world. Key to this is our ability to provide the best possible service to the whole research community: helping authors to share their discoveries; enabling researchers to find, access and understand the work of others; supporting librarians and institutions with innovations in technology and data; providing quality publishing support to societies; and championing the issues that matter – standing up for science, leading the way on open access and being powerful advocates for the highest quality and ethical standards in research. As a research publisher, Springer Nature is home to trusted brands including Springer, Nature Research, BioMed Central, Palgrave Macmillan and Scientific American. For more information, please visit springernature.com and @SpringerNature.