Sharing and Citing Data

Citing data is a key part of the FaceBase Community. That’s why the data you find on FaceBase is regarded as first-class scholarly works. Publishers increasingly are asking for authors to recognize the data contributions used in their work.

This is why on every Dataset and Project page we offer an easy way to cite data using the Record IDs (RIDs) and the “Share and cite” button.

A citation to a record in FaceBase is essentially equivalent to a citation to a paper or other scholarly work.

Resource IDentifiers (RIDs)

Every record within Chaise has its own unique identifier, the Resource IDentifier (or RID). This is a permanent, citable, globally unique identifier displayed for every data record, much like an Accession number.

The RID is displayed for every row of search results.

You can also find the RID on every record page, as well as at the end of the URL to a record page.

IMPORTANT: However, note that the URL of a record page does not hold the same citable significance as the “Share and cite” button described below. When sharing FaceBase records, we strongly recommend using the “Share and cite” button (see below).

Using Share and cite to cite any record

Each record displays the “Share and cite” button.

Example of the Share and cite button

When you click this button, the “Share and cite” window appears with links that are permanent identifiers, which include the RID. These URLs are guaranteed to always link to the current location of the data.

There are two types of “Share and cite” links displayed:

  • Versioned Link: References the state of the record at a certain point of time (a day ago).
  • Live Link: References the state of the record at any point of time in the future.

Example of citation information for a record

A full data citation should include the following information:

Authors. Title. [deployment-name] Identifier (Publication Year)

Where:

  • Authors - Include the contributors to the data. These usually include many or most of the members of the project that submitted the data. If you are unsure, list the PIs for the project that submitted the dataset as its authors.
  • Title Use the title found at the top of the dataset’s web page.
  • [deployment-name] - Use the formal name of the deployment (for example, “FaceBase” or “GUDMAP”) as the publisher or repository name.
  • Identifier - Some reference management software simply call this “URL.” Use the Share link found in the “Share and cite” menu.
  • Publication Year - Use the year in the “Release Date” field.

Learn more about citing data at DataCite and Nature Research.