No Embargo

Dataset is immediately available, no waiting period

Access (A)

Accessible (A1)

Justification

Immediate availability maximizes reuse potential. RDA-A1-05D (Important) requires "data can be accessed automatically." NIH strongly encourages immediate sharing. Delayed availability directly reduces the window for scientific reuse.

Practical Guide

should-have

Release immediately. 14.6x citation lift for unembargoed data.

Immediate availability is one of the strongest predictors of citation impact. Unembargoed datasets receive 14.6x more citations (RR = 14.65, p < 0.001). The 2.3% of Zenodo datasets with active embargoes receive almost no citations. NIH strongly encourages immediate sharing. If your data doesn't require an embargo for publication or IP reasons, release it now.

For Repositories

Default to immediate availability unless depositor explicitly requests embargo
Set maximum embargo periods (e.g., 12 months)
Send reminders when embargoes are about to expire

For Depositors

Release data immediately unless you have a specific reason for embargo
If embargo is needed, set the shortest period possible
Check with your journal — many now accept simultaneous data release

Third strongest positive signal (14.6x lift). Near-universal (97.7%). NIH encourages immediate sharing.

Standards Sources

Convergence score: 1/4 independent sources —

FAIR-justified

Standard	Field / Property	Obligation Level
RDA FAIR	RDA-A1-05D	Important

FAIR Principle Alignment

Primary mapping: Accessible (A1)

A1: (Meta)data are retrievable by their identifier using a standardized protocol

RDA FAIR Data Maturity Model Indicators:

RDA-A1-05D: Data can be accessed automatically (i.e. by a computer program)

How This Signal Is Measured

Embargo end date vs. current date. Binary: no embargo or expired = 1, active embargo = 0.

Empirical Evidence (Zenodo, n=1.3M)

Per-signal statistics use Zenodo as the primary validation source because it is the largest general-purpose repository with structured DataCite metadata, natural variance across all 25 signals, and available citation/usage data. Domain-specific repositories exhibit ceiling effects or restricted variance that preclude per-signal discrimination. Cross-repository validation is reported separately.

Prevalence

97.7%

of Zenodo datasets

Citation Lift

14.9x

vs. datasets without

Data Source

Zenodo (CERN)

1,328,100 records analyzed

Interpretation: Near-universal on Zenodo (97.7%). The 2.3% with active embargoes receive almost no citations. Immediate availability is a prerequisite for computational reuse pipelines.