Research Data Management

Research Data Management (instructions for authors)

The Historical Journal is a magazine that supports open access to research data, which form the basis of modern scientific research.

Research data are data obtained by various methods for learning, testing, or confirming hypotheses and drawing conclusions that arose or were processed in the research. It comes in various formats: notes, interviews, photographs, transcripts, numerical research data, computer program records, etc. When data are not recorded/stored in digital form, it is advisable to assess whether such material can be digitized, thereby facilitating its storage in a data repository. A data repository enables the storage of and access to various types of data (e.g., research data, public sector data, etc.) and related documentation.

Data accessibility increases the transparency and verifiability of research findings and enhances their usability in future research, thereby increasing the return on investment in the data already collected. Data sharing can contribute to the career development of researchers by increasing the visibility of their work and enabling them to collaborate with new partners.

Policy on the mandatory citation of research data

In accordance with the Regulation on the implementation of scientific research work, the co-financier of the journal (Public Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia) requires the editorial board of the journal to ensure that authors provide open access to the research data used in the preparation of the article prior to publication. The data must be prepared in accordance with the FAIR principles (findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability).

Exceptions to full open access to research data

Authors must provide an explanation when data cannot be shared fully openly for legal, ethical, or other justified reasons, such as in the case of personal data protection (see EU General Data Protection Regulation), when dealing with material that includes trade secrets or other commercial information regulated by law, or when the data poses security risks.

Authors are not obliged to provide open access to digitised archival sources, printed sources and literature used in their contributions, provided that these are stored by the relevant archives, libraries and museums. However, they must endeavor to ensure open access to digital substitutes for these sources, provided that they also contain metadata records, text transcripts, marked-up text structures and content, databases, or any newly acquired data or conversions of existing data.

List of trusted repositories

Authors should publish their research data in trusted data repositories, archives, or centers that provide appropriate access regimes. Trusted data repositories recommended by the journal's (co-)funders are listed here.

The editorial board of the journal recommends that Slovenian researchers publish their research data in trusted Slovenian repositories, such as:

Authors can also search for the appropriate data repository using online tools such as https://fairsharing.org or https://www.re3data.org.

When publishing research data, we recommend using the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 or CC0 1.0 licenses or equivalent licenses.

Citing research data

Authors must cite all data sources used in accordance with the repository's instructions and the citation style used by the Historical Journal, or describe them appropriately in the data access statement if the data are not digitized or due to other restrictions (e.g. Personal Data Protection Act (ZVOP-2), Copyright and Related Rights Act (ZASP)), the data is not published. A link to the published research data (PID) must be included in the article in the list of references and also in a footnote, if appropriate.

Obligations of authors, editors, and reviewers

Research data must be made available to editors and reviewers when the article is submitted for review, and to everyone else at the latest when the article is published. An embargo on access to data is permitted in exceptional cases, subject to reasonable provisions regarding permissible embargoes and appropriate additional justification. It is the editor's responsibility to assess whether the article is based on research data. If the editor determines that such data exists and has not been properly cited by the author, they are obliged to notify the author to supplement their article. The same applies to the journal's reviewers.

Additional information

For further clarification, authors may contact the data manager at their institution or the journal's editorial office (info@zgodovinskicasopis.si). More information on research data can also be found in the Handbook on Research Data Management.