Biodiversity data: data paper

Describe and share your {meta}data

November 2025

Olivier Norvez

Sophie Pamerlon

Yvan Le Bras

Animation coordinator
@DataTerra  
@PNDB  
@THEIA  

Data engineer
@GBIF-France  

Scientific and technical coordinator
@PNDB  
@DataTerra  

Data lifecycle

Data lifecycle

Table of contents

Table of contents








Context and issues


Description


Process


Resources

Data paper : reminder of the context and the issues

Data paper : reminder of the context and the issues

  • Heterogeneity (data types, origin, standards) & diversity of “objects” to be linked together1
  • Loss of information over time2
  • Toward a better open science and reproducibility 3 4

Data paper description

data paper : Description

A data paper is a scientific publication that precisely describes a data set, and informs the scientific community of its existence, its methods and its potential for reuse1

data paper : Description

A scientific publication whose primary purpose is to describe a data set or group of data sets, rather than to report a research investigation.

  • DOI: indexing and citation : Data Papers are indexed by Web of Knowledge (ISI), PubMedCentral, Scopus, Zoological Record, Google Scholar, CAB Abstracts, Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ), EBSCO.

  • Title : Promotion and publicizing data

  • Authors: Acknowledgement and credit for data publishers through scientific publication

  • Abstract: description of data in a structured, human-readable form

  • Other sections : material and methods, taxonomic coverage, geographic coverage, descriptive statistics, …

data paper : Description

data paper from Research Le Bras et al., 2017

data paper from Policies Lepareur et al., 2022

data paper from citizen sciences Coché et al., 2021

data paper : Description

Adding statistical analyses or graphical representations is possible (and recommanded)

Migeon, 2015

data paper : Description


The Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT) developed by the GBIF:

- is a free open-source software and used by organizations around the world to create and manage repositories for sharing biodiversity datasets.

- facilitates the filling of metadata and the automated production of a Data Paper manuscript.

Data paper : description

back to the standardization

data paper : description

Data paper : process

Data paper : process

good Level of FAIRness

  • Open data (CC-BY 4.0 compatible with Etalab)
  • Mandatory license
  • Direct link to download raw datasets
  • Thematic scope (All biodiversity including paleo- and archaeo-biodiversity)
  • Geographic scope (Data produced by France)
  • Temporal coverage (at least one data acquisition date)
  • Abstract
  • Title, authors and contacts
  • Acquisition framework (at least via a text field)
  • DOI / unique identifiers
  • taxonomic coverage (if taxa are present)
  • keywords related to the Thesaurus
  • Data attributes (Dictionary of data attributes with units and descriptions)
  • Semantic annotation (Keywords and attribute names, unlimited usable resources)

Data paper : process

Pipeline to describe and to publish a data paper

Data papers : resources

Data Share

by the CEntre for the Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity (CESAB) - French Foundation for Biodiversity Research (FRB).

The aim of this call is to accelerate the sharing of open-access and large scale ‘novel’ biodiversity related datasets.

 For more information: Data Share

OpenMetaPaper

by the French Biodiversity data hub (PNBD - Data Terra) and the French nodal point of the GBIF

The aims are to increase the opening of research data around the use of the EML standard and its links with other data and metadata standards in ecology

 For more information: OpenMetaPaper

Support and training by th best teams ever ;)

Data paper : resources

listing of journals accepting data paper on GBIF.org

Data paper : resources

Ecological journals with “ethical” aspects on Dafnee ISEM & PrePrint Galtier _et al.,- 2025

Data paper : resources