Preparation for Data Submission

Acceptable Data Types

  • Datasets related to aquatic resources, environments and stakeholders connected to the health of freshwater, brackish water and marine ecosystems and their related communities across Africa are acceptable
  • The following can be submitted:
    • Raw unanalysed datasets
    • Analysed datasets or results that highlight aquatic resources status, exploitation, vulnerabilities to human-induced and natural hazards, coastal development threats and opportunities

Acceptable Data Format

  • Data in the following format can be submitted: XLS, XLSX, Doc, docx, text, PDF, CSV, JSON, mdb, Jpeg, ZIP, RAR, 7z.

Figure Preparation

  • Figures should be designed with great care and presented in the best possible quality.
  • Font type, font size and line thickness should be kept consistent if several figures are to be submitted for a particular results. Texts should not overlap; they should be clearly visible/readable.
  • Font family: A sans serif font such as Helvetica/Arial is preferred.
  • Font size: Around 11–12 pt is preferred; upper-case letters should be about 2–4 mm high.
  • Colour: figures must be produced in black and white or in shades of grey; use colourful figure only when needed to highlight research results, and provided the use of colour is appropriate.
  • Figure file requirements : Submit only figures generated from the source program. The following figure file formats are preferred: TIFF, EPS, PDF, SVG, EMF, PSD and PS. Images formatted in JPEG suffer from quality loss upon opening and saving; they should be avoided where possible.
  • Font size: Around 11–12 pt is preferred; upper-case letters should be about 2–4 mm high.

Required Information

All submissions must

  • include abstract/brief summary of dataset and the (research) project that resulted in the dataset
  • list of research objective(s) or problem(s) addressed by dataset
  • include description of materials and method separated under the following subheadings:
    • Description of study area
    • Experimental/sampling design
    • Data analysis, if applicable
  • provide each of metadata item required by The ROC
  • be original, i.e. must come from research work of data authors. The ROC may check submissions using anti-plagiarism software.
  • list all (and only) authors deserving authorship (see authorship policy)
  • have been approved by all immediately involved, e.g. authors and institutional authorities
  • meet ethics guidelines (i.e. institutional, national and international principles concerning the use of animals in research, sampling of endangered species, voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, potential for harm, and results communication). All conflicts of interest must be declared.
  • Submission history: If the dataset is submitted to or already published by another outlet, this must be disclosed in a letter to the Editor-in-chief at rocdatahub@ucc.edu.gh. For such datasets, authors may provide rationale for submitting the data to The ROC.
  • Permissions: It is the responsibility of data author(s) to ensure that the necessary reproduction rights for third party material(s) used data creation have been secured prior to submission. Copyright of third party material must be acknowledged according to the copyright holder's requirements. Data authors must be able to provide proof of reproduction license for third party materials to The ROC if requested.

Authorship Policy

Everyone qualifying for authorship should be listed individually in the list of authors.

Groups and organisations (e.g. community associations, NGOs, project collaborations, volunteer groups, government agencies, etc.) can be listed as authors

To qualify for authorship, individuals/organisations must meet the following three criteria:

  • Contribute significantly to one of the following aspects:
    • study design or conception of the work
    • data acquisition, or analysis, or interpretation
  • Approve the submitted of the data The ROC
  • Agree to be accountable for appropriate parts of the work.

User Account

Requires a user account to submit data. If you do not have an account, one will be created with details provided.

Dataset Upload

This is a one time process. Once you have submitted your data via this method, you can always login to check on its status or submit new datasets.

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