Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy

This journal upholds the principles of transparency, openness, and reproducibility in scholarly research. To support these values and ensure the integrity of the academic record, authors are encouraged to make their research data available in accordance with ethical and legal standards.

 

  1. Data Availability Statement
  • Requirement:
    All submitted manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement that clearly specifies whether the data supporting the findings are available, where they can be accessed, and under what conditions.

Example statements:

  1. “All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.”
  2. “The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.”
  3. “The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in [repository name], [accession number or DOI].”

 

  1. Data Repositories and Formats
  • Recommended Repositories:

Authors are encouraged to deposit their data in recognized public repositories appropriate to their discipline (e.g., Zenodo, Figshare, Harvard Dataverse, Dryad, Open Science Framework, or institutional repositories).

  • File Format and Documentation:

Shared datasets should be provided in open, non-proprietary formats (e.g., CSV, TXT, JSON, PDF/A) and accompanied by clear metadata and documentation sufficient to allow replication or secondary analysis.

 

  1. Ethical and Legal Considerations
  • Authors must ensure that data sharing complies with ethical standards, institutional regulations, and applicable laws, particularly when data involve human subjects, confidential records, or third-party intellectual property.
  • When sharing is limited due to privacy, confidentiality, or legal constraints, authors must clearly justify these restrictions in their Data Availability Statement.
  • De-identified or aggregated data should be used whenever possible to protect participant privacy.

 

  1. Embargo Periods and Exceptions
  • Embargo Requests:

Authors may request a temporary embargo on public access to their data, typically to allow completion of related research or patent filing. Such requests must specify a duration (e.g., up to 12 months) and a justified rationale.

  • Exceptions:
    The journal recognizes that not all data can be shared due to ethical, legal, or contractual obligations. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Editorial Board, ensuring compliance with COPE’s ethical principles.

 

  1. Citation and Acknowledgment of Shared Data
  • Authors who share their datasets must ensure proper citation of the data repository and include a data DOI or persistent link in the reference list or appendix.
  • Data reuse should always acknowledge the original creators in accordance with the principles of academic integrity.

 

  1. Compliance and Editorial Oversight
  • The Editorial Board may verify data availability and may request access to underlying data during the review or publication process to ensure research transparency.
  • Failure to comply with this policy or to provide accurate data statements may result in editorial actions, including manuscript revision, delay in publication, or retraction in severe cases.

 

  1. Contribution to Open Science

By adhering to this Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy, authors contribute to the advancement of open science, foster reproducibility, and strengthen the journal’s commitment to ethical and responsible research dissemination.

The journal supports global initiatives promoting FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).

 

References

This policy follows:

  • COPE – Core Practices: Data and Reproducibility (2023)
  • DOAJ Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (2022)
  • FAIR Data Principles (GO FAIR, 2016)
  • Wiley and SpringerNature Data Sharing Policies (General Tier 2)