One of the first places you may encounter references to data is when you are starting to read through journal articles, newspapers, reports, and other written material about your topic of interest. Researchers, including university faculty, may publish their findings in articles, books, and/or reports, and provide access to their underlying data in a variety of ways, including:
A data availability statement is generally a brief, separate section near the end of the article and includes information about the data used in the publication and how that data can (or can't) be accessed.
Many journals support the inclusion of a data availability statement within research articles. For example, in addition to a data availability statement, PLOS journals have been involved with a project to highlight articles that have submitted associated data to a selected repository. These articles are designated with an "Accessible Data" icon and a link to the associated dataset.
Access to an article's associated research data may not be formally outlined in a data availability statement, especially in older articles. However, data may be referenced in other portions of the text including:
Supplementary material can include additional figures, infographics, tables, presentations, and video and audio files. The material should be directly relevant to your article. Depending on the journal and publisher, research data may or may not be acceptable as supplementary information.
Data are part of the scholarly record. If you use data, you should cite that data in your references just as you would a journal article, newspaper article, or website. Citing and referencing data is becoming a more common practice.