Protocol- Surveys and Questionnaires
MeSH ID: n/a
Description:
The questions used in the collection of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information is the questions asked in the survey or questionnaire. This research output object type is used in tandem with Tabular Data: Surveys and Questionnaires.
Best practice for sharing this type of data:
A copy of the questions (or stable link to their location) should be provided in the article text.Online survey tools typically export to .csv (or Microsoft Excel that can be saved as a .csv file). Column headings should describe the content of each column and contain only numbers, letters, and underscores – no spaces, or special characters. Lowercase letters are preferred. Row names should be consistent with those used in the article and in other related datasets.
Most suitable repositories:
Many repositories host surveys and questionnaires, such as Open Science Framework, ClinicalTrials.gov, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research and Qualitative Data Repository. As well, your institution, journal, or funder may recommend specific repositories, otherwise data can be added to any repository able to host generic file types, detailed here.
Best practice for indicating re-use of existing data:
For public datasets please provide a DOI or other stable identified for the dataset itself *and* include a citation for the dataset in the reference list. Be sure to indicate exactly which data has been re-used, particularly when multiple versions of the dataset exist. In many cases, this is best achieved by sharing the code used to extract the part of the data that you analyzed. In some cases it may be best to share the exact dataset(s) you analyzed as well.
For access-controlled data authors should provide a link to instructions for obtaining access (e.g. here is the information page for ADNI (Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative): http://adni.loni.usc.edu/data-samples/access-data/).
When re-using a private dataset from a previous study please contact the data owners to discuss how the data can be made public.
