Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A study depositing its dataset in Dryad (curation-reviewed, journal-linked) and its associated software separately in Zenodo (no curation review) — using two different platforms for two artefact types.
Editorial commentary
Data publication platforms include data journals (Scientific Data, Earth System Science Data, Data in Brief), peer-review-enabled repositories (Dryad with its journal partnerships), and curation-heavy thematic platforms (PANGAEA). The defining feature is treatment of the dataset as a publishable object: it is given a citation form, a landing page with structured metadata, often a CC0 or CC-BY licence, and (in the data-journal case) a published data descriptor article. Data publication is a recognised research output and contributes to attribution and credit.
How this differs from a repository
A repository stores and provides access to a dataset; a data publication platform adds a publication layer on top — curation review, a formal citation, and often a data-descriptor article — that a bare deposit does not have. In practice the distinction is a spectrum rather than a hard line: Zenodo and Figshare are primarily deposit-and-cite repositories with no mandatory curation review, Dryad adds a curation-review step tied to journal submission, and a data journal adds a full peer-reviewed descriptor article on top of that. This page is the umbrella concept — use it to route to the specific platform whose governance and review model fits a given need, rather than treating any one of them as definitive.
Worked example
A researcher submitting a manuscript to a journal that mandates data availability might deposit the underlying dataset in Dryad (curation-reviewed, journal-linked), while depositing an associated software tool separately in Zenodo (no curation review, broader scope) — a single study routinely uses more than one data publication/repository platform for different artefact types.
Related pages
See also Dryad, Zenodo, Figshare, generalist repository, domain repository, and trusted digital repository.
References
- Costello M.J., ‘Motivating online publication of data’, BioScience 59(5), 2009.
- Lawrence B., Jones C. et al., ‘Citation and peer review of data: Moving towards formal data publication’, International Journal of Digital Curation 6(2), 2011.
Also known as
Data journal · Curated data publication venue
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Data publication platform"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/data-publication-platform" />{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/data-publication-platform",
"name": "Data publication platform",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/data-publication-platform",
"description": "A platform that supports the publication of research data as a citable artefact — assigning a persistent identifier, presenting a landing page, and applying review, curation, or peer-review processes — distinct from purely depositional storage.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/data-infrastructure#set",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/data-publication-platform",
"alternateName": [
"Data journal",
"Curated data publication venue"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"publisher": {
"@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
},
"author": {
"@id": "https://casrai.org/#editorial-team"
},
"datePublished": "2026-05-21T02:19:59",
"dateModified": "2026-09-05T17:31:16",
"inLanguage": "en-GB",
"isAccessibleForFree": true
}
