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Business Research

Introduction to Business Resources at Buley Library and Beyond

Citing Your Data

Citing data is important in order to acknowledge the work of others if the data are not your own; and even if they are your own, to enable others to find (and perhaps re-use) your data, increasing your research impact. Citing your data enables others to cite your work, contributing to metrics that document your scholarly works and contributions in your field.

What is Open Data?

Open data is data that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone - subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and sharealike.

What characterizes open data?

  • Availability and Access: the data must be available as a whole and at no more than a reasonable reproduction cost, preferably by downloading over the internet. The data must also be available in a convenient and modifiable form.
  • Re-use and Redistribution: the data must be provided under terms that permit re-use and redistribution including the intermixing with other datasets.
  • Universal Participation: everyone must be able to use, re-use and redistribute - there should be no discrimination against fields of endeavour or against persons or groups. For example, ‘non-commercial’ restrictions that would prevent ‘commercial’ use, or restrictions of use for certain purposes (e.g. only in education), are not allowed.

-From the Open Knowledge Foundation's Open Data Handbook