When you reuse a existing data set as part of your research, you should cite it in your references, like you would articles, books, and other materials. Data citations play an important role including:
- Facilitating the reuse and verification of data
- Tracking the impact of data
- Helping to reward and recognize data producers
Provide the same information that you would for other publications when you are acknowledging their use.
- Author or Creator: The individual, group, or organization that created the data set.
- Title: The name of the data set or the study.
- Publication Year: When was the data published or posted online?
- Publisher: Who is responsible for producing or distributing the data set?
- Edition or Version: Has a version number associated with the data set been provided? In the case where a repository has multiple versions of the same data set available for use, be sure you cite the data set you used.
- Persistent identifier: You want to provide the electronic address of the location where you found the data. This maybe a web address, but often there will be a persistent identifier such as a DOI or persistent handler, that you will want to include.