Turn existing data into new discoveries

Your datasets may contain far more scientific potential than what was reported in the original publications. The Mindfulness Consortium was created to unlock that potential in a way that is safe, collaborative, and efficient.

We connect data owners with researchers who have the expertise and time to generate new insights. Our role is to facilitate scientific collaborations while ensuring that data ownership and control remain fully with you.

Your dataset does not need to be publicly downloadable; sharing metadata is sufficient. When you receive a collaboration offer, you decide whether to proceed, how involved you wish to be, and what your authorship expectations are.

Even datasets that appear fully analysed often contain untapped potential. For example, your data could be used to:

  • Test which participants benefited most or least from your intervention (e.g., latent profile analysis, machine learning approaches)
  • Investigate mechanisms of change (e.g., mediation models, structural equation modelling)
  • Analyse secondary outcomes or longer-term follow-up data that were not central to the original publications
  • Apply network analysis to, for instance, examine how relationships between psychological or biological variables change from pre- to post-intervention
  • Combine your dataset with similar trials to address research questions that require larger samples (e.g., approaches from precision medicine)

The Mindfulness Consortium can turn dormant or partially used data into high-quality publications and/or competitive grant applications without increasing your workload substantially. By joining, you can also take part in consortium grants and multi-site projects that would be difficult to build independently.

Sharing your data in The Mindfulness Consortium is simple and structured:

Step 1: Register your account and start a new submission.

Step 2: Describe your dataset in the standardised form. We encourage you to complete as many fields as possible to improve discoverability.

Step 3: Specify any access conditions, collaboration preferences, or usage restrictions. Add contact information for potential collaborators to use.

Step 4: Upload your files (materials, anonymised dataset, codebooks etc.), if you are able to do so. This step is optional (accepted file types are:……..).

Step 5: Submit your record and allow The Mindfulness Consortium staff to review and publish when it is ready!

Download

To make the process even easier, download our Step-by-Step Submission Guide, which walks you through each stage and includes an offline version of the submission form.

Planning Ahead

Once archived, your submission becomes a permanent scholarly entry. You will be able to update contact information, but the record itself remains part of the Mindfulness Consortium’s cumulative archive.

We encourage contributors to consider:

  • Who should be contacted if you change institutions
  • Whether a proxy (e.g., colleague or former student) should be designated to transfer ownership
  • Whether anonymized data might eventually be deposited with access restrictions

Clear contingency planning helps ensure long-term stewardship of your data and preserves its scientific value.

What's Next?

Successful collaboration depends on transparency and clear communication. Before beginning a project, we strongly recommend discussing:

Seamless and efficient research partnerships begin with clear contribution agreements. We recommend aligning authorship with APA Ethics Code Standard 8.12 (Publication Credit) and using the Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT) to define roles transparently and strategically.

Robust data stewardship strengthens both scientific integrity and long-term impact. APA’s data sharing guidance provides a framework for secure, transparent, and reproducible research practices.

Pre-specifying analytic strategies enhances rigor and credibility. We encourage teams to document analysis plans and follow APA’s Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines to support cumulative science.

High-impact projects require coordinated execution. Establishing shared timelines, manuscript plans, and communication norms early ensures efficient progress and sustained collaboration. The APA’s Monitor on Psychology article on cooperation and communication provides practical guidance for structuring effective research partnerships.

All collaborative projects must meet applicable ethical and institutional standards. APA Ethics Code Standard 8.14 (Sharing Research Data for Verification) outlines responsible practices that protect participants while advancing scientific discovery.