Evaluation of Data Journal Websites A Usability and Content Analysis

Data journals are an important component of maximizing openness and scholarly sharing. These journals are effective primarily because of the quality and usability of their websites. Here, we use 15 criteria grouped by five categories as usability, author guidelines, data and open science characteristics, technical integration, and visibility indications to evaluate seven selected data journal websites. Direct observation using a structured checklist was conducted to collect data, which was then analysed using frequency and percentage distribution. Results show that the majority of selected journals followed good practices like usability standards, open-access practice, DOI assignment, availability in metadata, and indexing regarding visibility. Nevertheless, some journals lack features such as advanced search capabilities, ORCID integration, and presence in social media. This confirms the need for journal platforms to remain scientifically effective and easy to use, in order to provide better discoverability, accessibility, and usability of research datasets. The results can potentially help publishers, researchers, and information professionals enhance the quality of data journal websites as information systems and reinforce scholarly communication practices.