Citing GHGA Submissions¶

To reference a study included in the GHGA Archive in publications or other media, please always reference the study accession, e.g. GHGAS12079965883832. This accession number serves as umbrella for all datasets included in the related study.

Data Availability Statement¶

We recommend using the following statement to reference the data deposition in journals:

Data Availability Statement

The data generated in this study are available via controlled access in the German Human Genome-Phenome Archive (GHGA, data.ghga.de) under the GHGA Accession https://data.ghga.de/study/GHGAS12079965883832. Further details, including the data access policy for the study, can be found there.

This statement contains a stable URL to the study. This link and the study will be maintained and can both be cited.

Federated EGA and GHGA as an Approved Data Repository¶

The European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA) is the main repository approved by several journals for the deposition of human omics data. In order to better address some of the data protection and legal challenges that researchers have faced when depositing data there, the EGA has started to move to a federated model (FEGA), whereby national nodes will work with the central EGA to support the archival of omics data. GHGA is the national FEGA node for Germany as described here: Federated EGA - EGA European Genome-Phenome Archive.

In the future, metadata deposited in GHGA will be findeable in the EGA Data Portal. This functionality is currently being worked on.

GHGA can also be found on re3data.org and FAIRsharing.org.

Additional Journal Requirements¶

Below are common journal requirements related to data availability statements and reviewer access, with suggested wording you can reuse or adapt for your manuscript.

Specification of reasons for controlled access¶

A: Outline the rationale in the Data Access Policy section of the non-personal metadata you submitted to GHGA and cite that metadata in your manuscript.

Fully linkable data URLs¶

A: Reference the study using its GHGA Study Accession URL, for example https://data.ghga.de/study/GHGAS12079965883832.

Timeframe for gaining access¶

A: The Data Submitter defines how Data Requesters may obtain access. If a journal requests this information, include an expected processing timeframe for Data Access Requests in your data availability statement.

Authorship expectations¶

A: Some Data Submitters require Data Requesters to include the Data Submitter as a co-author. When depositing data with GHGA, check your institution's policy and include any applicable authorship requirements in the Data Access Policy.

Anonymous reviewer access¶

A: GHGA does not provide a dedicated anonymous reviewer access mechanism. We distinguish between:

Non-personal (public) metadata: Once a study is released on the GHGA Data Portal, its non-personal metadata (such as the study description) are publicly available. Reviewers can view the study via the Data Portal without revealing their identity. The non-personal metadata can be downloaded as an Excel file as proof of upload using the GHGA Study Accession, e.g. https://data.ghga.de/api/rts/studies/GHGAS12079965883832
Controlled-access research data: Underlying research data are not publicly accessible. Access is granted only via controlled access. Each reviewer — or any other user — must submit an individual data access request, which is evaluated by the responsible Data Access Committee (DAC). GHGA does not influence DAC decisions.