Purpose

The Journal supports the principles of transparency, reproducibility, and open science by encouraging authors to make the data underlying their research publicly available whenever possible. Consistent with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and recognized international best practices, data sharing enhances the credibility, verification, and reuse of published research while promoting scientific collaboration and innovation.

Data Availability

Authors are encouraged to deposit the datasets, code, protocols, software, questionnaires, and other research materials supporting their findings in trusted public or institutional repositories before or at the time of publication. Where data sharing is not possible due to legal, ethical, privacy, confidentiality, or commercial restrictions, authors should clearly explain the reason within the manuscript.

Data Availability Statement

All manuscripts should include a Data Availability Statement describing where the supporting data can be accessed, the repository name (if applicable), accession numbers, persistent identifiers such as DOIs, or the conditions under which the data may be obtained. If no data are available for sharing, authors should provide an appropriate explanation.

Acceptable Data Repositories

Authors are encouraged to use recognized, secure, and sustainable repositories appropriate for their discipline, including institutional repositories, subject-specific repositories, or general-purpose repositories that provide persistent identifiers and long-term preservation. Data should be deposited in formats that facilitate accessibility, reuse, and long-term preservation.

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Data sharing must comply with applicable laws, institutional requirements, ethical standards, and participant privacy protections. Personal, confidential, or identifiable information must be anonymized or de-identified before public sharing. Where data cannot be shared because of confidentiality agreements, intellectual property rights, national regulations, or participant consent limitations, authors should clearly state these restrictions.

Editorial Review

Editors and peer reviewers may request access to supporting research data during the peer review process to verify the validity and reproducibility of the reported findings. Authors should cooperate with reasonable requests for data, unless ethical or legal restrictions prevent disclosure.

Responsibility of Authors

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that shared data are accurate, complete, well-documented, and consistent with the results reported in the manuscript. Any corrections or updates to shared datasets after publication should be communicated to the Journal when they materially affect the published research.

Journal Commitment

The Journal encourages responsible data sharing while recognizing that data availability may differ across disciplines and research methodologies. Decisions regarding publication will not be based solely on whether authors publicly share their data, provided that legitimate ethical, legal, or confidentiality reasons are clearly explained.

Key Requirements

• Authors are encouraged to share research data that support the published findings.

• Every manuscript should include a Data Availability Statement.

• Data should be deposited in trusted repositories whenever possible.

• Shared datasets should include persistent identifiers such as DOIs where available.

• Confidential, personal, or sensitive information must be protected and anonymized before sharing.

• Authors must explain any legal, ethical, or commercial restrictions that prevent data sharing.

• Editors may request supporting data during peer review when necessary to verify research findings.

• Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and completeness of all shared research data.