Progress in the Citation of Geoscience Data

In 2002, the Geoscience Information Society formed a Task Force on Citation of Geoscience Data in response to a report by the National Research Council's Committee on the Preservation of Geoscience Data and Collections. The report indicated that lack of citation to geoscience data such as well logs, field notes, core collections, and fossil and mineral specimens contributed to an impression that those materials were not being used and therefore not worth preserving. The NRC Committee recommended that geoscientists begin citing these materials in reference lists as a way of documenting their value. The GSIS Task Force activities included contacting publishers and editors of geoscience journals to advocate for the citation of geoscience data and collections by geoscientists. This study examines the progress towards broader citation of geoscience data by geoscientists in the five years since the completion of the Task Force activities and NRC report.