Deposit your replication material
What is the FORS replication service for?
The FORS replication service is dedicated to replication material related to publications by Swiss researchers, in Swiss journals or using Swiss data.
Supporting research transparency and open science, the FORS replication service is a technical solution offered by FORS for dissemination of replication materials in the social sciences and related disciplines (i.e. economics, psychology).
Using the FORS replication service allows researchers to upload replication materials and describe them through structured metadata, and thus obtain a DOI making the replication materials accessible and citable.
Which materials can be deposited on the FORS replication service?
Replication materials to be stored in the FORS replication service consist of all the files and information needed for replication purposes. These include reports, syntaxes used for data transformations and analyses, code, data formats and the software (and its version) used, the data generating process, as well as any other relevant additional documentation to conduct the replication. In addition, you can mention the source and provide a link to the full dataset (in SWISSUbase or elsewhere). Partial dataset, that is files consisting of a subset of variables from a complete data file, may be deposited in the FORS replication service. A link to the full dataset must be indicated in the deposit form in the field “Source of data”.
Who is responsible for the deposited materials?
The content of all the submitted materials remains the sole responsibility of the depositor both from a legal point of view (copyright, protection for personal data, etc.) and from a quality point of view (reproducibility, usability. etc.).
If you provide data, you must be clear about the rights to distribute the data and the access conditions. Data may be subject to distribution restrictions due to sensitivity, proprietary clauses in the data use agreement, and so on.
How to get started and how to proceed?
You can start uploading replication material and documenting your research data immediately without having to register.
To begin, simply download the deposit form, complete the metadata fields needed to obtain a DOI and choose a Creative Commons License. Once completed, email the replication material and the completed deposit form to dataservice@fors.unil.ch .
Before the replication materials are published, they will be reviewed by a FORS data expert to make sure that the submitted materials and the deposit form are complete, that the procedure for reproducing the analyses is understandable, and that all the files mentioned are included. However, the quality and reproducibility of the deposited material remains the responsibility of the depositor. FORS does not offer any guarantee on this point. Moreover, FORS reserves the right to refuse materials in whole or in part.
After validation of the replication materials by a FORS data expert, the materials are published in the FORS replication service on the date the depositor has chosen and a DOI is assigned to the materials (note that if needed, a DOI can be provided before the materials are published. In this case contact us dataservice@fors.unil.ch ).
After release, the depositor will be notified of the publication by e-mail and the materials will appear on the list of all published replication materials in the FORS replication service.
The replication materials published in the FORS replication service are under a Creative Commons License (CC BY 4.0 or CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) and are freely accessible without any registration or restrictions for any users. There is no limit on how long the materials will be available. However, FORS does not offer any guarantee on the permanent operability and reproducibility of the materials, as it this depends on the formats in which the materials are deposited and on the availability of the corresponding software. Once published, FORS does not modify or delete deposited material.
Contact information
For any questions and to deposit replication materials, please write to: dataservice@fors.unil.ch
FORS Data service
C/o Université de Lausanne
Géopolis – Quartier Dorigny CH – 1015 Lausanne