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Data papers, a new class of scholarly publication emerging from the open‐science movement, foster data discovery and reuse by offering comprehensive descriptions of research data. Yet, despite their promising growth, the role of data papers in scholarly communication remains underexplored. This work therefore investigates the perceived contributions and functions of data papers to scholarly communication by interviewing 14 data‐paper authors operating in the field of natural science. Using conceptual frameworks adopted from Borgman (2007) and Van de Sompel et al. (2004), we identify four general functions of scholarly communication (i.e., legitimization; dissemination; access, preservation, and curation; and rewarding). Additionally, our data lead us to propose that verification is a distinct scholarly communication, underscoring the importance of data papers in validating research findings in the context of ensuring research transparency. By elucidating the crucial role that data papers now play within the scholarly communication ecosystem, this study seeks to raise the academic community's awareness of their fundamental position, as well as their co‐existence with other forms of data publication, in advancing scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data papers, as one of the channels to encourage researchers to open up research data under the open science movement, are expected to provide strong incentives through formal citations. However, few studies have investigated the drivers of this emerging type of publication. This study examines researchers' motivations, and considerations for data paper submission, as well as their perspectives on this scholarly publication. Through an in‐depth interview approach with ten data paper authors, our preliminary results found that, researchers are often driven by extrinsic factors to increase their publications, and data papers are sometimes viewed as territory claims before further research. Although the academic community widely recognizes the benefits of publishing data papers, some still cast a doubtful eye on its academic value and impact. We anticipate such insights on the driving forces and point of views of data papers could provide opportunities for stakeholders to fill gaps and strengthen the open science ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]