Publishing your findings

The Population Health Research Network encourages researchers to share their research findings and make the results publicly available.

Publishing refers to making information available to the public by any means. Prior to publishing research findings from linked data research, it is important to ensure that all the relevant people and organisations are aware of any publications and have had the opportunity to review them.

Sending draft publications for pre-publication review ensures that:

  • any privacy/confidentiality requirements are upheld
  • there has been no misinterpretation or misuse of the data; and
  • all organisations involved are aware of the research findings and their possible consequences once made public.

Types of publication

Research findings can be disseminated in a range of different ways including:

  • Academic journals and books
  • non-refereed publications, such as web pages
  • other media such as conference presentations; and
  • professional or institutional repositories.

Knowing the requirements

Specific requirements for the review of draft publications prior to publication or restrictions on communication will be outlined in any researcher agreements with data linkage units, data custodians or funding agencies. Agreements will usually specify:

  • exactly who must be notified of a publication
  • the length of time to be provided for review; and
  • the timeframe in which those reviewing the publication must provide any feedback. The time frames will vary from agreement to agreement.

Acknowledgement statements

The Acknowledgement is a formal statement that recognises the contributions of individuals and organisations, other than the authors, to the work being reported.

Confidentiality, data transfer and research funding agreements often include specific requirements for the inclusion of an acknowledgement in all publications and sometimes the exact wording is specified.

Information about the approvals required for publication, and acknowledgement statements, where available, can be found on the Metadata Platform (Enquiry tab, Approvals and Governance section). If your dataset is not listed in the Metadata Platform, please contact the relevant data custodian.

Researchers should ensure that these requirements are followed. In the absence of any specific contractual requirements, the data linkage units and data custodians who contributed to a research project should be included in the acknowledgements. Examples of suggested wording are included below:

The authors wish to thank the staff at the [insert data linkage unit/s and/or Sax Institute if using SURE].

The authors also wish to thank the Data Custodians of the [insert names of Data Collection/s involved].

The authors wish to thank the Linkage and Client Services Teams at the [insert data linkage units and/or Sax Institute if using SURE], in particular [insert names of staff who provided extra help], as well as [insert names of Data Collections/Custodians involved].

In addition, for those who receive PHRN funding for infrastructure and research, acknowledgement of the Australian Government should be done either by the use of an approved logo or by the following written statement:

This project is supported by the Population Health Research Network which is a capability of the Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.

How do I cite the datasets in my publications?

Datasets used in your research must be listed in your publication. Some datasets have DOIs, these can be found on the Metadata Platform.

Reporting guidelines

Reporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected Data (RECORD) is an international collaborative which has developed reporting guidelines for studies conducted using routinely-collected health data.

The aim of the collaborative is to enhance transparency by providing researchers with the minimum reporting requirements needed to adequately convey the methods and results of their research. These guidelines will help journal editors and peer-reviewers to assess manuscripts for publication.

Checklists are available for observational studies using routinely collected linked data and non-interventional pharmacoepidemiological studies using routinely collected health data.

Other resources of interest