Data Policies, Data Management, and the Quality of Academic Writing

Abstract

Publishing in top-ranking journals in the social sciences and international relations requires writing with clarity. Accurately described and transparent methods sections ensure high-quality academic writing. The methodology section of empirical papers should explain the exact steps taken by the authors when operationalizing concepts and testing hypotheses to facilitate replication. This also allows for monitoring quality, challenging findings, and promoting good scientific practices. The quality of methodology sections is the result of the interaction between academic cultures of data sharing, effective application of rules, and good-quality research data management (RDM). This article evaluates the impact of standards on replicability. We present an empirical analysis of a set of sixty-six articles published during the period 1984-2013 that use data from all waves of the European Values Survey. We find differences demonstrating the impact of good RDM and data policies on good scientific practice.