In recent years, China has placed great emphasis on strengthening and standardizing the management of scientific data. In 2018, the General Office of the State Council issued the Scientific Data Management Measures, mandating the mandatory submission of data generated from government-funded scientific projects at all levels and proposing the establishment of a sound management system for the submission of data from domestic and international academic papers. This study investigates the current awareness of journal editors in Shanghai regarding the submission of paper-associated data, identifies and analyzes their cognitive characteristics, and provides references for advancing and improving the submission of paper-associated data in China.

The study employs a questionnaire survey method to investigate frontline full-time editors at scientific journal publishing units in Shanghai. The survey focuses on Shanghai journal editors' cognition of paper-associated data submission and sharing, covering: awareness of related concepts, policies, and ideas; comprehension of technical aspects in the data submission process; and knowledge of scientific data repositories and collaboration. Through the research, the cognitive characteristics are analyzed and summarized, and recommendations are proposed for journal publishing units to advance and implement paper-associated data submission and sharing.The study finds that editors of scientific journals in Shanghai exhibit the following characteristics in their understanding of paper-associated data submission: ① They possess a relatively sound foundation in data ownership and management, but this high level of industry awareness is disconnected from the current practices of journals.②Although the interviewed editors generally acknowledge the necessity of implementing paper-associated data review, there remains a cognitive bias regarding the responsible entity for data review. ③ Their understanding of the importance of localized data storage still needs improvement. Many editors hold misconceptions about the relationship between "journal internationalization" and "localized storage", tending to believe that journal internationalization implies that the storage of paper-associated data must also be "internationalized".Based on the analysis, the paper proposes the following recommendations for journal publishing units to advance and implement the submission and sharing of paper-associated data: ① strengthen policy promotion and professional training; ② deepen collaboration with data repository platforms; ③ develop data submission management tools by leveraging journal cluster publishing platforms.