Datasets are defined as items shared on repositories which are categorized as datasets - this excludes, e.g., preprints, posters, images, and software. The data is sourced from figshare.com and includes not only datasets uploaded on figshare but also repositories harvested by the figshare team such as Dryad and Zenodo.
Datasets are an important research output and may be used in different ways, for example by

• researchers who would like to find datasets for reuse;
• academic institutions who are interested in making their data more accessible and who want to get a more complete picture of the outputs of their researchers;
• funders who would like to analyze the impact of their grants in terms of datasets as a research output;
• publishers who want to analyze journals in terms of publications with associated datasets - and where datasets get deposited.