Mentions
This page describes how alternative mentions of datasets are identified for datasets in the Scholar Data database. Unlike formal citations, alternative mentions capture dataset reuse in contexts where standard citation practices are less common or not established, such as code repositories, machine learning models, and patents.
Sources
Software Heritage
The Software Heritage archive is the world's largest public collection of source code, preserving over 250 million projects from platforms like GitHub and GitLab. Scholar Data scans README files from GitHub repositories for dataset identifier mentions, capturing reuse in computational pipelines, models, and similar software outputs.
Hugging Face
The Hugging Face Hub is the central platform for sharing pre-trained machine learning models. Scholar Data scans model cards for dataset identifier mentions, capturing reuse in AI and ML workflows.
USPTO Patents
Scholar Data scans granted patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for dataset identifier mentions, covering patents from January 2002 onward.
Coverage
Scholar Data currently tracks over 90,000 mentions to datasets indexed in the Scholar Data database.
| Source | Last Updated/Version used | Mentions |
|---|---|---|
| Software Heritage | January 2026 | 85,129 |
| Hugging Face | January 2026 | 5,243 |
| USPTO Patents | January 2026 | 1,519 |
| Total | 91,891 |
Why Might a Mention Be Missing?
- The code repository, model card, or patent was published after the last database update
- The mention appears in a platform not yet covered by the sources listed above