Partaking in the editorial process of an academic journal is both a challenging and rewarding experience. It takes a village of dedicated individuals with a vested interest in the dissemination and sharing of high-quality research outputs. As members of the editorial team of an open access data journal, we reflect on the emergence of data-driven open research, a new journal genre (data paper), and a new journal type (data journal) in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHSS). Access to data—the currency of empirical research—is valuable to the research community, crucial to scientific integrity, and leads to cumulative advancements in knowledge. It therefore requires significant investment and appropriate venues for dissemination. We illustrate the necessity of raising awareness about data-driven open research and best practices in data-driven publishing. We discuss how it involves building a community of authors and readers, establishing a company of editors, reviewers, and support staff, and passing on the practice, which has been challenging the status quo in research and publishing. Potential future directions are considered, including data peer review and reward, recognition, and funding structures for data sharing.

This article explores the challenges and opportunities of adopting data-driven approaches in Ancient World (AW) studies, focusing on the complexities of data collection, curation, and analysis in the field. We address issues such as defining data for AW studies, as well as data fragmentation, standardization, and interoperability. We propose solutions to enhance data accessibility, collaboration, and reuse, demonstrating that adopting standardized formats and adhering to FAIR principles can improve data sharing and enable large-scale, interdisciplinary research. Importantly, we highlight how qualitative and quantitative approaches can coexist, enriching the field. We also review different past and ongoing initiatives supporting data-driven methodologies in AW studies and advocate for their continued expansion. Lastly, we discuss the rise of data papers as a transformative tool for bridging traditional scholarship and digital methodologies, emphasizing the importance of data sets and their potential for reuse in advancing the field.

This paper explores the intersection between open humanities research and Wikidata, focusing on data papers published in the Journal of Open Humanities Data (JOHD). We analyse 13 JOHD articles to assess how Wikidata is integrated, cited, or proposed for future use, identifying trends in disciplines, data formats, and periods covered. Our findings reveal a growing engagement with Wikidata, particularly in History and Literary Studies, and highlight its potential to enhance semantic richness, interoperability, and reuse. We argue for broader adoption through improved tools and community support. The conference also marks the launch of JOHD’s new special collection, Wikidata across the humanities: datasets, methodologies, reuse, aimed at fostering further research and collaboration.

In this editorial, we present Wikidata Across the Humanities: Datasets, Methodologies, Reuse, a special collection dedicated to the publication of discussion and data papers that explore the use of Wikidata in the digital humanities. With 45 articles, it is by far the largest special collection in the Journal of Open Humanities Data. The collection deliberately spans a wide range of disciplines, from history and linguistics to archaeology and museology, which demonstrate the growing prominence and maturity of Wikidata as a knowledge base that is increasingly used not only in the humanities and social sciences, but also in the cultural heritage sector and GLAM institutions. The success of this collection reflects not only the adoption and dissemination of free and open knowledge, but also the research community’s interest in integrating methods and tools that enable the interoperability of existing datasets – an issue that has become increasingly important in recent years. We hope this collection will encourage further researchers to contribute to Wikidata and similar collaborative platforms, not as a peripheral activity, but as an integral part of how humanities data is built and shared.