Towards a community driven framework for standardized open data in psychoneuroendocrinology: A Delphi consensus study

In psychoneuroendocrinology (PNE), data is valuable due to its high clinical and health-related relevance and its resource-intensive collection. Yet, sharing it openly alongside publications remains uncommon. If shared, data remain highly fragmented and idiosyncratic, which hinders data reuse and integration across studies. A standrad data structure for PNE may remedy this. To address this, we formed a consortium and, as a first step, conducted this modified Delphi study across two survey rounds to inform about which data structure, metadata, subject-level variables, and implementation requirements are needed before a PNE data standard may be developed. The panel in the final round consisted of 50 respondents from the field of PNE. In two online survey rounds, respondents rated their agreement with 84 statements anonymously on a 5-point Likert scale. Consensus (> 70% [dis]agreement) was achieved for 80 items. The results highlight a broad agreement within our expert panel on the need for, and key components of, a standardized PNE data structure, spanning both the structuring of data itself, with a balance between flexibility and standardization for adaptability and comparability across use cases, and the methodological metadata needed to make shared data interpretable and responsibly reusable. Developing and establishing a standard for PNE data will be a central next step to foster transparency, sustainable use of resources, and the translational potential of our work.