News
Fresh writing on open science, research data, and the RDL ecosystem.
22 articles
How to Avoid Predatory Journals
Predatory journals charge fees but skip real peer review, damaging your record. Learn the warning signs and a simple checklist to tell a trustworthy venue from a fake one.
Writing a Great Dataset README
A README is the front door to your dataset. Learn what to put in it so anyone — including future you — can understand, trust, and reuse your data without asking for help.
Getting Started with Open Science
Open science sounds big, but you can start small. A practical first-steps guide to making your research more open, transparent, and reusable — without overhauling how you work.
Peer Review Explained: Types and How It Works
Peer review is the quality check at the heart of research — but it comes in several forms. A guide to single-blind, double-blind, and open review, plus their strengths and blind spots.
Persistent Identifiers Beyond the DOI
The DOI is the most famous persistent identifier, but not the only one. Meet ORCID for people, ROR for organizations, and how connecting them builds a linked, trustworthy research record.
Boosting Your Research Visibility Online
Great research that no one can find has little impact. Practical ways to make your work more discoverable — profiles, identifiers, open access, clear titles, and sharing your data.
Understanding Citations and Research Impact
Citation counts, the h-index, and altmetrics all try to measure impact — imperfectly. A plain-language guide to what these metrics mean, what they miss, and how to build genuine impact.
Sharing Sensitive Data Responsibly
Sensitive data can still be shared — carefully. An introduction to anonymization, controlled access, and the principle of "as open as possible, as closed as necessary."
Choosing a Data Repository: What to Look For
Where you deposit your data shapes whether it lasts and gets found. A checklist for choosing a trustworthy data repository — persistent identifiers, preservation, licensing, and discoverability.
Why Metadata Matters (and How to Write Good Metadata)
Metadata is the data about your data — and it decides whether your work can be found and reused. Learn what good metadata contains and how to write it so both humans and machines understand your dataset.
What Is Research Data? Types and Examples
Research data is more than spreadsheets. A clear overview of the main types — observational, experimental, simulation, and derived — with examples and why classifying yours matters for sharing.
How to Share Your Research Data: A Step-by-Step Guide
Sharing data well is a repeatable process, not an afterthought. A practical, step-by-step guide to preparing, documenting, licensing, and depositing your research data so others can find and reuse it.
The Reproducibility Crisis and How Data Sharing Helps
Many published findings are hard to reproduce, and hidden data is a big reason why. Learn what the reproducibility crisis is, why it happens, and how open data and transparent methods rebuild trust in research.
Sharing Your Thesis Openly: Why Dissertation Archiving Matters
A thesis represents years of work — yet many sit unread in a drawer. Learn how open dissertation archiving with a persistent identifier makes your research discoverable, citable, and part of the scholarly record.
How to Cite a Dataset Correctly
Datasets deserve citations just like articles do. Learn the standard elements of a data citation, why the DOI is essential, and how proper data citation earns researchers credit for their data.
Choosing a License for Your Research Data: CC BY, CC0, and Beyond
Without a license, your dataset is legally ambiguous and hard to reuse. This guide compares CC BY, CC0, and other Creative Commons options so you can pick the right one for open research data.
Preprints Explained: Faster, Open Sharing of Research
A preprint lets you share findings before formal peer review, speeding up science and staking your claim early. Learn how preprints work, their benefits and trade-offs, and how open review is changing them.
How to Write a Research Data Management Plan (DMP)
A Data Management Plan is now required by most major funders. Learn what a DMP covers, from collection and storage to sharing and licensing, with a practical section-by-section template.
Open Access vs Open Data: What's the Difference?
Open access and open data are related but not the same. This guide explains how free-to-read publications differ from reusable research data, and why modern open science needs both.
ORCID iD: The One Identifier Every Researcher Needs
An ORCID iD is a free, permanent 16-digit ID that connects you to all of your research across your whole career. Learn what it solves, why publishers now require it, and how to make the most of yours.