Next Steps in Data Publishing

Many different stylistic types of publication are necessary to support the various types of information that this journal is designed to serve. Specifically, Neuroinformatics currently supports publication of the following article types: Original Article, News Item, Editorial, Commentary, and Review. In general, editorials and commentaries are invited submissions, whereas original articles, news items and reviews are non-solicited. While the majority of published papers in this journal are ‘original articles’, it is felt that the ‘news item’ is under-utilized by this community as an important form of rapid communication. Stylistically, the guidelines for a news item are that it be short (up to 4 printed pages), does not contain an abstract or section headings, is footnoted as opposed to referenced, is limited to two figures/tables, and must include an Information Sharing Statement (see below). Editorially, they are not necessarily reviewed by outside reviewers, and can be thought of as an ‘advertisement’ for a resource or concept. There is typically no specific ‘hypothesis’ tested and the implications or significance are not required to be stringently defended, as long as the topic is within the scope of the journal. Deviations from these guidelines will only be granted by the editorial staff in exceptional circumstances. An original article, on the other hand, is stylistically full-length, fully referenced, sectioned and is required to include an abstract. Original Articles are usually peer reviewed by three outside reviewers, and must make a significant contribution to the scientific or technological advancement of the field. In most cases, there should be a hypothesis, method of approach, results with analysis of data acquired to support or refute the hypothesis, and discussion of the significance and implications of the findings in the context of the rest of the field. Exceptions to these presentation criteria are permissible for submissions presenting a methodological approach. While there is no specific limit on length or number of figures/tables, page costs mandate a premium on brevity and conciseness of presentation to the extent possible. All ‘original articles’ must include an Information Sharing Statement (see below). An optional Acknowledgements section is permitted immediately prior to the References. Information Sharing Statement—Original Articles and News Items must (and all other articles should if relevant) include an Information Sharing Statement immediately prior to the Acknowledgments and References section. The purpose of this statement is to disclose the practical sharing details for all information sources utilized in each article. Examples include public data repositories and databases for structured data and models, websites for D. N. Kennedy (*) Division of Neuroinformatics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA e-mail: David.Kennedy@umassmed.edu