Raw diffraction data and reproducibility

In recent years, there has been a major expansion in digital storage capability for hosting raw diffraction datasets. Naturally, the question has now arisen as to the benefits and costs for the preservation of such raw, i.e., experimental diffraction datasets. We describe the consultations made of the global structural chemistry, i.e., chemical crystallography community from the points of view of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) Committee on Data, of which JRH was the Chair until very recently, and the IUCrData Raw Data Letters initiative, for which LKB is the Main Editor. The monitoring by the CCDC of CSD depositions which cite the digital object identifiers of raw diffraction datasets provides interesting statistics by probe (x-ray, neutron, or electron) and by home lab vs central facility. Clearly, a better understanding of the reproducibility of current analysis procedures is at hand. Policies for publication requiring raw data have been updated in IUCr Journals for macromolecular crystallography, namely, that raw data should be made available for a new crystal structure or a new method as well as the wwPDB deposition. For chemical crystallography, such a step requiring raw data archiving has not yet been recommended by the IUCr Commission on Structural Chemistry.