Challenge: Researchers produce valuable software & datasets, but where do they go?

Without proper publishing, research software may become

•  lost in personal repositories.
•  uncitable due to missing standard citation.
•  inaccessible due to lack of long-term preservation.

Linking software to publications ensures availability and enables citation and reuse by enforcing proper documentation and archiving. For this long-term archiving, Dagstuhl relies on Software Heritage, a non-profit organization supported by UNESCO which is the world's leading software archiving service. The cooperation was expanded as part of the FAIRCORE4EOSC project.

Our Solution: FAIR Supplementary Materials

Since April 2023, Dagstuhl Publishing has been working on an improved submission process and is now introducing a new workflow to better connect software with scholarly articles. The updated workflow supports authors, editors, and publishers in preparing related materials for the article and is:

•  Integrated: Easily attach research software to author's paper.
•  Standardized: Metadata follows FAIR principles.
•  Preserved: Archiving with Software Heritage ensures long-term access.

Once invited, authors can upload their research software as supplementary material linked to their scholarly article. The updated workflow is available for most series and journals of Dagstuhl Publishing including:

• LIPIcs: Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics,
• OASIcs: Open Access Series in Informatics, and
• TGDK: Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge.

How Does It Work?

After registering on DSUB, authors gain access to the submission workflow. Dagstuhl Publishing collects all relevant information via a form. The relevant steps are:

1. Providing Metadata: Authors can now submit basic metadata, including a URL, and classify their materials using the DataCite vocabulary (e.g., software, dataset) in the DSUB service. If the materials are hosted in Git or SVN repositories, authors can request long-term preservation in Software Heritage (SWH) through Dagstuhl Publishing.

   

2. Adding Extended Metadata: Authors can enrich their metadata at any stage of the submission process, such as author names, software descriptions, titles, programming language, and other relevant details. If a GitHub link is provided, the submission form can fetch metadata from the repository automatically. If the author is the same as for the research software, this information can be copied from the main article with a single click.

   

3. Internal Processing: The Publishing team standardizes and reviews the metadata to ensure all required fields are complete and accurate. For scholarly articles, this includes author affiliations with city and country details. For supplementary materials, at least a URL and proper classification are required.

   

4. Publication: The supplementary material is published in the Artifacts collection on DROPS, where it receives a DOI for citation purposes. While the metadata is curated the source code itself is not reviewed — only the associated article undergoes a formal peer review.
5. Long-term archiving in Software Heritage: If an author requests preservation during submission, Dagstuhl Publishing archives the software source code in Software Heritage (SWH). This archived version is linked to the DROPS publication, ensuring that the software remains accessible and verifiable over time.

For a detailed overview of the process, refer to Zenodo.

Artifacts Collection vs. Journal DARTS

It is important to distinguish between the Artifacts collection and the Journal DARTS.

Artifacts: Allows authors to submit research software as supplementary material linked to a peer-reviewed scholarly article.

•   Metadata is curated , and a DOI is assigned.
•   The software itself is not formally reviewed — only the associated paper undergoes peer review.
•   Ensures that research software remains available for reference, but without an additional evaluation step.

DARTS: Requires proof of a dedicated and rigorous artifact evaluation process for the software itself.

•   Makes research software an integral part of the scientific publication rather than just supplementary material.
•   Metadata and source code undergo an expert evaluation process.
•   Assesses functionality, usability, and reproducibility, ensuring that only high-quality research software is published.

Why Does It Matter?

Both DROPS and DSUB are an integral part of Dagstuhl’s mission to support transparency and reproducibility in computer science research. By providing these services, Dagstuhl Publishing ensures the long-term preservation of valuable digital artefacts while promoting Open Science and FAIR practices. 

Author's research software is therefore:

•  Citable: Get recognition!
•  Better Discoverability: Linked to publication.
•  Future-Proof: No more lost research tools.