Scientific Data submission guidelines for Data Descriptors
Scientific Data submission guidelines for Data Descriptors (nature.com/sdata) (20 min)
In: LABLOOP-W36 Notebook
WEEK 36 · Mon 24 May → Sun 30 May 2027
UNDERSTAND · PRACTICE · KEEP EVIDENCE
Read the week in plain language, refresh the foundations, follow each challenge step by step, and check what evidence to keep. Includes worked examples, answer keys and prompts for visual study resources.
Use this within your existing weekly blocks. Your learning completion and research evidence remain in your current tracker and week files.
START HERE · 2 MINUTES
STATUS
| Deliverable | Acceptance | State |
|---|---|---|
journal-fit-matrix.mdBuild create + |
Select one suitable journal each for Papers 1 and 2; check current scope, fees, author instructions and prior-publication policy. Acceptance: Prepare the two journal packages and JOSS readiness assessment; submit eligible packages when authorized and log any unmet gate item. | |
journal-submission-log.mdBuild create + |
Prepare manuscript/cover-letter/data/code packages, author approvals and submission records for the two journals. Acceptance: Actual receipts are tracked independently from drafts and acceptance. | |
joss-readiness.mdBuild create + |
Audit batchlens against current JOSS requirements, including sustained public history, research use, packaging, docs/tests and contribution; prepare software paper. Acceptance: Submit only if eligible; otherwise document the gaps without calling a DOI peer review. | |
study-notes.mdLearning create + |
Selected exact free resources; bounded lesson/exercise; separate solution; quiz and grading rubric; Peter's answers and gaps when executed | |
founder-paper.mdFounder papers create + |
Verified source and P11 digest; authentic question and connection sentence; access limitations | |
branding-pack.mdBranding create + |
Wednesday note, Sunday build log, X adaptation, figure/caption/alt text and the week's special asset; each claim linked to real proof | |
opportunity-actions.mdOpportunities create + |
Qualified target/role, source/date, ladder stage, next action, message/interview/proposal draft and actual status | |
evidence.mdEvidence & review open & edit ↗ |
Actual paths/URLs, versions, checks/metrics, preparation versus execution state and external receipts when applicable | |
review.mdEvidence & review open & edit ↗ |
Checklist, learning assessment, gate status, shortfalls, next actions and carryover |
These filenames are outputs to prepare during this week's execution; this scaffold does not claim they already exist. Drafts and measured results have different states. Technical code/data stay in the canonical project repository and are referenced from these coordinating files.
During preparation, future measured tables get column definitions, input requirements and run instructions with PENDING status. During execution, replace pending values only with measured outputs. Do not create realistic-looking fake evidence.
600 MINUTES MAXIMUM
Target. Select one suitable journal each for Papers 1 and 2; check current scope, fees, author instructions and prior-publication policy. Stop when: Prepare the two journal packages and JOSS readiness assessment; submit eligible packages when authorized and log any unmet gate item.
No material for Monday — this is a pure build day. Need something to study instead? →
Target. Read the selected journals' current author guides and JOSS scope/review requirements; list fees, article types and software readiness gaps. Produce: One concise applied note, a worked decision/example and unresolved questions.
Do these in this order — the plan's own sequence:
Target. Prepare manuscript/cover-letter/data/code packages, author approvals and submission records for the two journals. Stop when: Actual receipts are tracked independently from drafts and acceptance. Reserve the last 10 minutes for the optional Wednesday note.
No material for Wednesday — this is a pure build day. Need something to study instead? →
Target. Perform manuscript/metadata checks and software reproduction; no new course. Read related work only to close a submission requirement. Apply the Half 2 one-formal-study-block rule.
No material for Thursday — this is a pure build day. Need something to study instead? →
Target. Audit batchlens against current JOSS requirements, including sustained public history, research use, packaging, docs/tests and contribution; prepare software paper. Stop when: Submit only if eligible; otherwise document the gaps without calling a DOI peer review.
No material for Friday — this is a pure build day. Need something to study instead? →
Target. Resolve the earliest critical spillover or dependency. Prepare any long-form publication draft from existing figures here if needed. Sandbox only after commitments are met.
Optional, only if the day went well:
Target. 20 min build-log draft/publication when authorized; 5 min evidence/checklist; 20 min source-grounded gap review; 15 min next week's six physical actions.
No material for Sunday — this is a pure build day. Need something to study instead? →
Spare pockets, repo exercises and anything the plan lists without a day. Take them in this order when a day finishes early.
The model must turn these into exact physical actions using the observed files and available inputs. Each 90-minute block includes start/stop rituals. All calls, posts, debugging, reading and exercises consume this same capacity.
Half 2: Tuesday is the formal study block unless this is a selling/submission/decision week. Thursday supports applied review, partner work or the market task; do not add another full course.
WHAT TO WATCH, READ AND RUN
Preprints are like a published speech; journals are like the speech after the fact-checkers read it. Some doors (grant panels, pharma QA departments, certain hiring committees) still open only for peer-reviewed work. This week you send Paper 1 to a data journal, Paper 2 to a process-engineering or bioengineering journal, and batchlens to JOSS, where reviewers literally open GitHub issues on your repo. Choosing a jou…
0 of 8 finished · give me one to start now → · open in the deck →
In the plan's running order: each card says which block it belongs to and what has to come before it. The seven-day plan lists the same cards under the day that owns them.
Scientific Data submission guidelines for Data Descriptors (nature.com/sdata) (20 min)
In: LABLOOP-W36 Notebook
Tuesday · after Scientific Data submission guidelines for Data Descriptors
JOSS "Review criteria" and "Submitting a paper" (joss.theoj.org) (25 min); author guides of the chosen Paper 2 journal (20 min)
In: LABLOOP-W36 Notebook
Saturday sandbox
In: LABLOOP-W36 Notebook
Saturday sandbox · after Coursera Writing in the Sciences module on "The publication process" and cover letters
Smith et al. (2018), "Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS): design and first-year review", PeerJ Computer Science 4:e147
In: LABLOOP-W36 Notebook
Saturday sandbox · after Smith et al. (2018), "Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS): design and first-year review"
COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidance on preprints and duplicate publication (publicationethics.org)
In: LABLOOP-W36 Notebook
Read the docs folder on paper format; open two recently accepted JOSS review issues for bioprocess or scientific tools to see what reviewers ask
In: LABLOOP-W36 Notebook
Check the JOSS checklist: license, tests run in CI, docs, contribution guide, example usage
In: LABLOOP-W36 Notebook
Export to the journal's LaTeX template where available
In: LABLOOP-W36 Notebook
READ FIRST
This week delivers the three concrete artifacts below and the supporting learning/branding/opportunity pack. The scientific or commercial outcome follows the preserved source brief, while the acceptance checks make its evidence testable. The career objective is to turn this work into something a scientist, hiring manager or buyer can inspect.
READ FIRST
Read v6 · Week 36 · GATE 36: journal + JOSS before Monday. It expands this week's one-row v5 brief into daily build steps and adds the Welcome analogy, Learn it (▶ core and + deeper sources), Run it (repos with a 20-40 minute exercise), the NotebookLM kit and the mentor check below. Standing v6 rules: resource rules, NotebookLM protocol, chapter anatomy. v6 adds depth only; it does not change a goal, gate, output or the 600-minute cap, so this specification still governs execution.
Act VIII · Threads: FL, BL, R · GATE 36
Where this week sits. - ← From: Papers 1-2 (weeks 16, 20), batchlens releases (weeks 4, 8, 17). - → Feeds: week 40 (L5 path), your academic credibility for years; JOSS acceptance can arrive within weeks. - ⟳ Returns in: revisions over the next months (plan 2 hours per revision round in Saturday blocks).
Goals. - 🎯 This week: two journal submissions (one each for Paper 1 and 2) and one JOSS submission, all logged. - 🏁 This gate (36): submissions logged. - 🌟 Final: L5 reviewed and invited.
The plan (from v5 Part 7, expanded; gate and output unchanged).
v5 row: 36 | GATE 36: journal + JOSS | Journal author guides | Paper 1 to Scientific Data or a bioprocess journal; Paper 2 to Computers & Chemical Engineering or Biotechnology and Bioengineering (pick one each); JOSS submission for batchlens | Submissions logged - Goal: three submissions in the system. - Tue (study): author guides for the chosen journals; JOSS review criteria. - Build: Mon: Paper 1 reformatted as a Scientific Data Data Descriptor (or a bioprocess journal's format); submitted. Wed: Paper 2 reformatted for Computers & Chemical Engineering or Biotechnology and Bioengineering; cover letter; submitted. Fri: JOSS
paper.md(≤ 1,000 words), statement of need, tests, docs, community guidelines; submitted. Log all three inPUBLICATIONS.csv. - Sun: L-Sun "Three submissions: what changes between a preprint and a journal paper". - Gate 36 passes when: two journal submissions and one JOSS submission are logged. - Only one thing: the JOSS submission (fastest review, most useful for instruments).
Mentor check. "My work is in peer review at three venues, and I know what each reviewer will look for."
OPEN WHEN NEEDED
READ FIRST
Material: Read the selected journals' current author guides and JOSS scope/review requirements; list fees, article types and software readiness gaps.
Produce: One concise applied note, a worked decision/example and unresolved questions.
Understanding check: The note directly supports this week's experiment, collaboration, delivery or career action.
During preparation, write one worked example connected to the week's actual task, one exercise with a separate answer key and five questions. Peter supplies answers; score explanation quality and flag misconceptions in QUESTIONS. Numeric/scientific conclusions require actual data or explicitly synthetic teaching values.
Material: Perform manuscript/metadata checks and software reproduction; no new course. Read related work only to close a submission requirement.
Produce: One concise applied note, a worked decision/example and unresolved questions.
Understanding check: The note directly supports this week's experiment, collaboration, delivery or career action.
Use the prompt pack: P1 explanation ladder, P2 concept-to-project bridge and P3 quiz. Coding practice belongs within the allocated study/build block. Where the source asks for a favorable scientific result, substitute an honest measured comparison as explained below.
Select one verified founder/scientific-lead paper relevant to this week's domain. Use P11; save the question, method, numerical result with context, data workflow, three author questions and one connection sentence in founder-paper.md. Keep abstract-only access limitations explicit. On source weeks with no study, prioritize the commercial/submission task and log any skipped digest.
OPEN WHEN NEEDED
Branding: Draft a submission-process note and update the CV with submitted status only.
Opportunity action: Prepare evidence-oriented follow-ups to relevant hiring contacts and public software users; request concrete reuse feedback.
Use career asset contracts. Publish at most the agreed cadence; one figure and one supported number or admitted failure can support multiple drafts. In long-form weeks, prepare a 1,500–2,500-word article from existing evidence within the build/buffer allocation. In release/demo weeks, prepare a 60-second script: problem, input, command/action, result, limitation and proof link.
Verify individuals, jobs and affiliations at execution time. The GridX list and v4 company map are research seeds, not current facts. Do not reveal named company weaknesses or employer/client confidential information. Keep drafted/sent/replied/booked/held statuses separate. The planning request alone does not authorize external messages or publication; honor explicit authorization in the execution session.
OPEN WHEN NEEDED
JOSS eligibility is not automatic for a small tool. Week 36 seeks submissions, not acceptance; no L5 promotion from submission receipts alone.
Apply the root scientific evidence contract: provenance; meaningful independent splits; no future-data leakage; baseline comparison; actual denominators/uncertainty; failed cases; human review where required. State whether data are simulated, public experimental, synthetic or partner-provided.
Keep source gates intact, and log scope/time conflicts in review. Missing people, money, access or results must not be replaced with invented evidence. Reduce optional polish first. A specific essential external dependency stays pending while independent preparation continues.
READ FIRST
This is Gate 36: Journal and software submissions.
Required proof: Two journal submission receipts (one each for Papers 1 and 2) and one eligible JOSS submission receipt.
Reputation interpretation: L5 path; submission is not acceptance. Record target, forecast, actual date and evidence link. The original gate stays incomplete until the required external proof exists.
READ FIRST
Expanded minimum derived from the source goal: Prepare the two journal packages and JOSS readiness assessment; submit eligible packages when authorized and log any unmet gate item.
Operational first step if stalled: open journal-fit-matrix.md, write the required inputs and produce the smallest checkable example in ten minutes. If a more urgent missing gate dependency controls the week, use the source minimum above.
If the full week does not fit, use P14: retain one gate-critical deliverable and one directly supporting study exercise; record what is skipped versus moved. Do not mark the original full gate passed merely because the minimum was completed. After a missed week, reforecast from actual evidence and avoid a second unexamined lost week.
OPEN WHEN NEEDED
In review, state exactly what exists, what was verified, what Peter can now explain, which external events remain pending, where the canonical code/data live, and the next file/function or draft paragraph to touch. Link each fact to evidence. Carry scientific assumptions, split definitions and rights constraints forward explicitly.
OPEN WHEN NEEDED
Prepare Week 36 of this LABLOOP execution plan.
Read execution-plan/specs.md, execution-plan/DECISIONS.md,
execution-plan/GATES.md and
execution-plan/weeks/week-36-journal-and-joss-submissions/specs.md, commitment.md, evidence.md and review.md.
Read prior prerequisite reviews and inspect actual repository/data state.
Use v5 as the governing sequence, the v6 Week 36 chapter
(LABLOOP-Master-Plan-v6.md) as the deeper walkthrough, and v4 only for
retained details.
Produce the full local preparation pack and the exact week-specific files named
in the artifact table. Give me a bounded lesson with exercises/answer key,
daily physical actions, technical runbook or draft, branding drafts and
career/commercial actions. Keep the total to 600 minutes.
Separate prepared artifacts from measured results and my learning completion.
Verify sources and do not invent metrics, citations, papers, people or outcomes.
Do not execute external communications, publication or spending unless the
current session already authorizes the specific action.
Finish by updating evidence/review and TODAY with the next physical action.
OPEN WHEN NEEDED
v6 expands this row into a full brief, with the gate and output unchanged, inside v6 · Week 36 · GATE 36: journal + JOSS. The following is source planning text, not a claim of completion. Apply the explicit evidence corrections in this specification and DECISIONS.md.
| Week | Goal | Study (Tue) | Build (Mon/Wed/Fri) | Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | GATE 36: journal + JOSS | Journal author guides | Paper 1 to Scientific Data or a bioprocess journal; Paper 2 to Computers & Chemical Engineering or Biotechnology and Bioengineering (pick one each); JOSS submission for batchlens | Submissions logged |
WEEK FILES
State: UNCONFIRMED. Owner: Peter Ciancaglini. Specification
Start date: not set. End date: not set. Available hours: confirm (planned ceiling 10). Primary outcome: journal and joss submissions. Minimum that keeps the next gate alive: Prepare the two journal packages and JOSS readiness assessment; submit eligible packages when authorized and log any unmet gate item.
journal-fit-matrix.md: Prepare the two journal packages and JOSS readiness assessment; submit eligible packages when authorized and log any unmet gate item.journal-submission-log.md: Actual receipts are tracked independently from drafts and acceptance.joss-readiness.md: Submit only if eligible; otherwise document the gaps without calling a DOI peer review.| Day | Minutes | Physical action / outcome | Actual slot | Done |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 90 | Select one suitable journal each for Papers 1 and 2; check current scope, fees, author instructions and prior-publication policy. | Not set | ☐ |
| Tue | 90 | One concise applied note, a worked decision/example and unresolved questions. | Not set | ☐ |
| Wed | 90 | Prepare manuscript/cover-letter/data/code packages, author approvals and submission records for the two journals. Last ten minutes: optional note. | Not set | ☐ |
| Thu | 90 | One concise applied note, a worked decision/example and unresolved questions. Include relevant founder-paper work within this block. | Not set | ☐ |
| Fri | 90 | Audit batchlens against current JOSS requirements, including sustained public history, research use, packaging, docs/tests and contribution; prepare software paper. | Not set | ☐ |
| Sat | 90 | Resolve critical spillover; long-form draft if due; sandbox only if done. | Not set | ☐ |
| Sun | 60 | Build log, evidence, gap review, next actions. | Not set | ☐ |
Peter's commitment / adjustments: pending. Reviewing model and date: pending.
Execution state: NOT_STARTED. Specification This file is a blank register with planned artifact names; none of the rows prove completion.
| Item | Path / URL / version | State | Verification / actual result | Verified by / date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| journal-fit-matrix.md | Not created | NOT_STARTED | Pending: Two distinct manuscript routes with costs and required revisions are recorded. | — |
| journal-submission-log.md | Not created | NOT_STARTED | Pending: Actual receipts are tracked independently from drafts and acceptance. | — |
| joss-readiness.md | Not created | NOT_STARTED | Pending: Submit only if eligible; otherwise document the gaps without calling a DOI peer review. | — |
| Learning exercise / Peter's quiz | Not created | NOT_STARTED | Peter's actual answers required | — |
| Founder paper digest | Not created | NOT_STARTED | Source/content and access checked | — |
| Branding pack | Not created | NOT_STARTED | Claims audited; drafted/public status distinct | — |
| Opportunity actions | Not created | NOT_STARTED | Drafted/sent/replied/booked/held distinct | — |
| Gate 36 | No evidence | NOT_STARTED | Two journal submission receipts (one each for Papers 1 and 2) and one eligible JOSS submission receipt. | — |
| Question / metric | Dataset, N and unit | Split / seed / config | Command or verification method | Output path and measured value | Uncertainty / limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Action / counterpart | Receipt or private reference | State | Next action / date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Peter's teach-back / quiz score: not assessed. Scientific assumptions and deviations: none recorded yet. Budget allocated / spent: not assessed / no spend recorded. Missing evidence and responsible owner: pending inspection.
Do not put API keys, source full texts with restricted rights, client data or invoice personal details in a public version of this register. Keep private evidence references private.
Review status: NOT_REVIEWED. Specification · Evidence
What Peter can explain or reproduce now: not assessed. Quiz / teach-back gaps: not assessed. Measured result and limitations: pending. Best evidence link for a scientist/recruiter/buyer: pending. What failed or changed, and why: pending.
Gate requirement: Two journal submission receipts (one each for Papers 1 and 2) and one eligible JOSS submission receipt. Gate status: NOT_STARTED. Original target week: 36. Actual completion date / forecast: not set. Missing external evidence: pending inspection. Blocks completed / 7: not recorded. Days with commits / 7: not recorded. Sunday build log / optional Wednesday note: not recorded. Founder conversations cumulative: not recorded. Earned evidence level and proof: not assessed. Consecutive lost weeks: not assessed.
Week-specific risk to revisit: JOSS eligibility is not automatic for a small tool. Week 36 seeks submissions, not acceptance; no L5 promotion from submission receipts alone.
Continue / recover / blocked: not decided. Retain as the minimum: Prepare the two journal packages and JOSS readiness assessment; submit eligible packages when authorized and log any unmet gate item. Skipped permanently with reason: none recorded. Carryover with owner, dependency and target week: none recorded. Canonical repository paths and versions: pending. Data permissions, split definitions or assumptions to preserve: pending. External action authorization that still applies: not assessed. Next physical action, exact file/function/paragraph: pending. Updates to root PROGRESS / LOG / TODAY completed: ☐
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