Using Data in Dryad
- What kinds of data are in Dryad?
- Do I have to pay for the data?
- What is a data package?
- How should I cite data from Dryad?
- How can I download a Dryad citation to citation management software?
What kinds of data are in Dryad?
Dryad's primary goal is to make available for reuse data underlying publications from an ever-growing list of partner journals. Content can be from any area of basic or applied biosciences. Dryad currently has particularly strong coverage in the areas of evolutionary biology and ecology.
Here are a few good examples:
- Data from: The Strength of Phenotypic Selection in Natural Populations, the basis for a meta-analysis of many different studies of natural selection in the wild.
- Data from: Two-phase increase in the maximum size of life on Earth over 3.5 billion years, a list of the maximum recorded sizes of major animal lineages throughout the fossil record.
Do I have to pay for the data?
No. All data deposited to Dryad must be released under the Creative Commons Zero waiver, which releases all legal restrictions on reuse of the data. Scientific norms dictate that you properly cite data that you reuse (see below).
There is some older data in Dryad which authors have released under an alternative license. For commercial uses of this content, please contact the corresponding author of each data file.
What is a data package?
The entire set of data files associated with one publication is called a data package and is assigned a DOI, and each individual data file within the data package is also given a component DOI. When your data deposit is approved by the Dryad Curator, the DOI for your data package is sent to you by email. Please use the data package DOI when referring to your data, unless you are specifically making reference to a particular component data file.
For example, the data package http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1888 contains two files, NicSolstatus.csv and NicSolPLML.tre. Clicking through on each of these files to view their details, we can see that each one has its own Dryad file identifier DOI (http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1888/1 and http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1888/2 respectively). These component file data identifiers can be used when the files need to be referenced individually, rather than the data package as a whole.
How should I cite data from Dryad?
When citing data found in Dryad, please cite both the original article, as well as the Dryad data package. You can see both of these citations on the Dryad page for each data package.
For example:
Article:
Westbrook JW, Kitajima K, Burleigh JG, Kress WJ, Erickson DL, Wright SJ (2011) What makes a leaf tough? Patterns of correlated evolution between leaf toughness traits and demographic rates among 197 shade-tolerant woody species in a neotropical forest. American Naturalist 177(6): 800-811. doi:10.1086/659963
Data:
Westbrook JW, Kitajima K, Burleigh JG, Kress WJ, Erickson DL, Wright SJ (2011) Data from: What makes a leaf tough? Patterns of correlated evolution between leaf toughness traits and demographic rates among 197 shade-tolerant woody species in a neotropical forest. Dryad Digital Repository. doi:10.5061/dryad.8525
If you are using a large number of data sources, it may be appropriate to provide a list of referenced data packages, rather than citing each individually in the references section. This list of data packages can then be deposited in Dryad, so others who read your publication can locate all of the original data.
See also: How can I download a Dryad citation to citation management software?
How can I download a Dryad citation to citation management software?
Citations for every data package in Dryad can be easily downloaded using the links at the bottom of the yellow citation box for each data package.
You can download the data package citation in the following formats:
- RIS (compatible with EndNote, Reference Manager, ProCite, RefWorks)
- BibTex (compatible with BibDesk, LaTeX)