SComS introduces new Open Data Policy

Studies in Communication Sciences (SComS) has adopted a new Open Data Policy to strengthen transparency and reproducibility in communication and media research. Authors are now encouraged to make the data underlying their articles publicly available in trusted repositories, such as SWISSUbase, Zenodo, OSF, or DaSCH.

The policy follows the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and recommends using open licenses like CC-0, CC-BY, or CC-BY-SA. Accepted articles should include a data availability statement and cite datasets in the reference list. During peer review, authors may submit anonymized data as supplementary files.

Ethical considerations such as privacy, consent, and data protection remain paramount. The editorial team supports authors in selecting appropriate repositories and ensuring compliance.

For more details, see the Open Data Guidelines for Authors or contact the editorial office at scoms@usi.ch.
Philipp Bachmann