Data Availability & Research Transparency Policy
The journal promotes research transparency, reproducibility, and responsible data sharing. Authors are encouraged to make underlying data, code, instruments, and analytical materials available whenever feasible, lawful, and ethically appropriate. This policy supports openness while respecting privacy, confidentiality, intellectual property, and legal obligations.
1) Materials Covered
Where applicable, authors should provide access to:
- datasets and codebooks/data dictionaries
- statistical code/scripts and computational workflows
- survey instruments, interview guides, questionnaires, and research protocols
- supplementary appendices and materials supporting analysis
2) Data Availability Statement
Authors are encouraged to include a Data Availability Statement indicating:
- what data/materials are available
- where and how they can be accessed (repository link/DOI or controlled access)
- any restrictions on access and the reason for restriction
- conditions for reuse and citation
If data/materials cannot be shared, authors must state why.
3) Acceptable Sharing Options
Authors may share materials through:
- reputable public repositories (institutional, disciplinary, or general repositories)
- supplementary files uploaded with the manuscript (when appropriate)
- controlled access arrangements (e.g., access upon reasonable request or institutional procedures)
- anonymized or aggregated datasets when individual-level disclosure is not permissible
When human participants are involved, authors must ensure that shared materials are properly anonymized and that sharing complies with consent terms and privacy laws.
4) When Data Cannot Be Shared
If sharing is restricted due to privacy, confidentiality, legal/contractual obligations, or intellectual property constraints, authors must:
- clearly state the reason for restriction
- describe what can be provided instead (e.g., aggregated results, anonymized subset, synthetic data)
- explain how findings can be verified (e.g., transparent methodology, model specification, robustness checks, or controlled access procedure)
5) Ethical and Legal Compliance
Authors are responsible for ensuring data sharing complies with:
- ethics and informed consent requirements (where applicable)
- privacy and confidentiality protections
- institutional policies and contractual obligations
- copyright and licensing rules for third-party datasets or tools
The editorial office may request additional information to confirm compliance when necessary.
6) Minimum Transparency Standard
Regardless of data sharing feasibility, authors must provide sufficient methodological detail to allow readers to evaluate and replicate the work where possible, including:
- research design and analytical procedures
- variable/measurement definitions
- sampling/respondent details and limitations
- statistical or qualitative analysis methods and decision rules
Contact
For questions about data availability, transparency statements, or restrictions, contact: ethics@grasp-society.com
