Data journals are a focus for innovation in data sharing and publication, across a growing range of disciplines. They offer a number of significant opportunities to researchers, data centers/ repositories, institutions and publishers. We report on progress in the PREPARDE project, which is addressing key issues including the common ground between 'trustworthy' data repository standards and effective peer review of datasets. The project has an initial focus on earth science disciplines, and the Geoscience Data Journal, a partnership between the UK Royal Meteorological Society and Wiley-Blackwell, and involves major geoscience data centers in the UK and US. We discuss findings of an international interdisciplinary workshop, and its contribution to our aim of producing guidelines on a) dataset review criteria and the associated cross-repository workflows; and b) the roles of trusted repository standards e.g. the Data Seal of Approval and ISO16363 in supporting the peer review of data. These focus on how the responsibilities for both technical and scientific review of data can be met effectively through collaboration between the various stakeholders. These include research institutions, many of which are developing infrastructure for research data management to fulfill their policy obligations towards sharing publicly funded research data as a public good.