A recent report has made it clear how reluctant researchers are to share and document their data, often the results of years of work and substantial expenditures. Data sets frequently disappear unarchived, resulting in lost work and duplicated efforts due to lack of data access. Transportation has added a 'Data paper' category to fill one of the gaps in the process of publishing data sets.

The 'Data paper' category allows researchers to report on substantial or innovative data collection exercises. These papers provide colleagues with credit for this difficult work and support researchers in further reporting of their respective studies, as data questions have already been answered and do not need to be rehearsed repeatedly.

Data papers are reviewed research papers focusing on the data collection process and its content. The journal aims to enrich the field with deeper insights into the data collection process and with freely available data sources enabling further analysis and comparison across time and space.

Potential topics

• Reports on substantially innovative or large policy relevant data sets
• Discussion of contents and design, theory or modelling considerations behind data collection
• Discussion of pre-tests and resulting changes
• Description of response process fully (sample frame, response behaviour, protocol and changes, incentives, AAPOR response rates)
• Evidence on representativeness of the sample obtained
• Basic substantial results and comparison to relevant benchmark surveys
• Examples of survey forms or CATI scripts in supporting materials
• Explanation of data availability for third parties and open access considerations

Timeline

• Invalid DateTime: Submission deadline