How should I publish my digital fossil? Recommendations for the publication of comprehensive 3D datasets in palaeontological studies

Abstract

Data sharing is essential to scientific progress, and 3D datasets are no exception. Sharing fosters transparency, reproducibility and confidence in the scientific and publication processes, including peer-review, and it improves the global availability of scientific data. While it lies within the responsibility of the authors to generate, share, archive and manage their 3D datasets, scientific journals and repositories can facilitate their accessibility by providing clear guidelines and data policies. However, it is often not clear how a 3D dataset needs to be composed to be comprehensive and re-usable. The commonly used FAIR Data Principles provide a good standard for such a dataset, but are not specific towards the different 3D file types. Authors, editors and repositories play a key role in ensuring data FAIRness, which is essential for proper data management and stewardship. In this work, we want to demonstrate (more standardized) ways for researchers and scientific journals to make the 3D datasets of their research projects accessible following FAIR Data Principles. To do so, we review the main points of the data cycle, and point out how data sharing benefits not only researchers, but the scientific community as a whole. A study of the data policies of 137 journals with a palaeontological focus revealed that none fully comply with 3D data requirements, indicating that there is room for improvement. After this data policies comparison, but also taking into account those of the repositories, we hope that this work can help authors to follow best practices in sharing 3D datasets.