Data Summary Submission Support
What is a Data Summary?: A Data Summary is a text document that is prepared by the author of a manuscript containing new experimental property data that falls within the scope of new processing procedures instituted by the journals listed at the of this page. (If you have been directed to this page by a journal editor, your experimental data is within the scope.)
A Data Summary contains concise descriptions of the experimental property data in each table of the manuscript. (Please, note that the editors of all journals discourage inclusion of primary experimental data in the body of the article.) The Data Summary will be used at NIST in combination with the submitted manuscript to aide the peer-review process, as described in the Joint Statement prepared by the participating journal editors. The completed Data Summary is sent (by the author) as an attachment to the requesting editor via return email. Detailed instructions follow.
How long will this take?: Preparation of a Data Summary should not exceed 30 minutes, particularly after you have completed one for the first time. As noted in the Joint Statement, “We, the Editors, are convinced that this additional data review will substantially benefit the scientific and engineering communities because of the increase in quality and usefulness of the reported experimental data.” Important metadata, such as uncertainties and full variable definitions are commonly scattered throughout a manuscript. The Data Summary ensures that these key values can be located readily and unequivocally.
Preparation
The Data Summary is made up of a heading to uniquely identify the associated article, followed by a series of concise descriptions of property data contained in the manuscript tables. Several examples of relatively extensive completed Data Summaries (i.e., with multiple data tables and properties) are given here. Details of general preparation procedures follow.
Details of Preparation:
- Article Authors:
- Corresponding Author (you):
- Corresponding Author Email (yours):
- Article Title:
- Journal:
- Journal Manuscript Code:
A brief summary should be created for each property within each table in the submitted article that contains new experimental property data. Tables of derived data, such as excess properties or properties derived through mathematical manipulation of the primary experimental data, are not considered here. There are three general types of property data considered: Reaction Data, Phase Equilibrium Data, and All Other Data Types. Example summaries for a few common types of data tables are given here.
| Reaction Data | Phase Equilibrium Data | All Other Data Types |
|---|---|---|
| Enthalpy of Combustion | VLE Data | Density & Refractive Index |
| LLE Data | Vapor Pressure | |
| SLE (Solubility) Data |
Data Summary Template Download
Submission: Send the completed Data Summary (a single text document) to the requesting editor by return email. Please, ensure that your Journal Manuscript Code is included in the subject line of the email.
Future Developments: An interactive on-line Data Summary preparation tool is in development at NIST.
For Questions concerning preparation of a Data Summary or problems with the Web site: Email: Journal.Coop@nist.gov