Instructions for Authors

This guide explains how to register your open data and code in the IAVS Open Data Index.

What Can You Submit?

The index links to open data and code in vegetation science — resources that are freely accessible without payment or restrictive access barriers. We store links, not files.

With a related publication

If your data or code accompanies a peer-reviewed paper and is from vegetation science, you can submit it here. Provide the publication DOI and we'll fetch citation details automatically via CrossRef.

Standalone datasets

Datasets without a related paper can currently only be added by administrators. These datasets need a DOI from a trusted repository. Random URLs or cloud storage links are not eligible.

How to Submit

1. Register an account — You'll need to provide a DOI from one of your published papers to verify your authorship. Your account will be reviewed by an administrator.
2. Create a new dataset entry — From your dashboard, click "Add Dataset" and enter:
   • The publication DOI (we'll fetch citation details automatically)
   • A title and description for your index entry
   • Links to your resources with their types
   • Relevant subjects, continents, and biomes
3. Submit for review — Your entry will be reviewed before appearing in the public index.

How We Classify Entries

Each submission uses three types of classification:

Category	Purpose	Examples	Entry
Resource Type	What the files are (broadly)	Data, Code	Fixed list
Subject	What you're studying Subject definitions	Plant Traits, Invasive Species, Vegetation Dynamics	Controlled list (suggest new)
Keywords	Everything else including disciplines, methods, or specific data structures	Experiments, SDM, R Scripts, Macroecology, Relevés, Quercus, Angola	Free-form

Missing a Subject?

If you can't find an appropriate subject for your research area, you can suggest a new one. Subject suggestions are reviewed by administrators before being added to the index.

Resource Types

When adding resources to your submission, classify each one:

Type	Description	Examples
Data	Raw or processed datasets used in your analysis	Species matrices, plot data, environmental layers, occurrence records
Code	Scripts and software used to produce your results	R scripts, Python notebooks, analysis workflows, R packages

Review Process

All submissions are reviewed by administrators to ensure quality and relevance. You'll receive an email notification when your submission is approved or if changes are requested.

After approval, your entry becomes publicly searchable. You can edit your submissions at any time — edits to approved entries will revert them to draft status until you resubmit.