# Policy Principles

Use this file when deciding what a Nature-ready data statement must disclose.

## Governing rules

- Every original research article needs a Data Availability statement.
- The statement must say what supporting data exist, where they can be found, and any access
  conditions.
- The statement must cover data generated by the study and secondary data reused for analysis.
- Public repository deposition is preferred. For community-mandated data types, use the required
  repository.
- Reviewers may need access to underlying data and code during evaluation.
- Restrictions are allowed only when they are justified and disclosed. Privacy, consent, endangered
  locations, third-party licences, commercial restrictions, and national law are common reasons.
- Restricted data still need a durable access route: named data access committee, institution,
  controlled-access repository, application procedure, or responsible group.
- The statement should not hide key evidence in vague language such as "data available upon
  reasonable request" unless the reason and process are explicit.

## Minimal dataset test

Ask whether an independent reader can inspect or reproduce the paper's central findings from the
available material.

Include:

- source data for main figures and key supplementary figures
- raw or sufficiently reusable data, according to community norms
- processed data used for statistics, plots, model training, or validation
- analysis-ready tables if raw data require specialized transformation
- third-party datasets with source, version, date accessed when relevant, and licence/access terms
- representative metadata for restricted datasets, even when records themselves cannot be public

Exclude only when defensible:

- data that were not used to support a result
- purely theoretical work that generated or analysed no dataset
- identifiable human data that cannot be anonymised or shared under consent and law

## Availability routes

Use one route per dataset or dataset family.

| Route | Use when | Statement must include |
|---|---|---|
| Public repository | Data can be openly shared | repository, DOI/accession, dataset title or scope, licence if known |
| Controlled repository | Data are sensitive but discoverable | repository, accession/record, access committee or procedure, restrictions |
| Supplementary/source data | Small supporting files are hosted with paper | exact file/table/source-data mapping |
| Reused public data | The study analyses existing public data | original repository/source, identifier, version/date accessed if needed |
| Third-party restricted | Data are licensed or owned by another party | owner/source, why not public, request route, permission condition |
| Request-based access | No repository route is possible | reason, responsible group, eligibility, expected conditions, contact route |
| Not applicable | No datasets were generated or analysed | concise reason; do not use for studies with any empirical data |

## Data, code, materials, protocols

Data Availability is not a substitute for code, materials, or protocol availability.

- Put custom code in a Code Availability section when the journal separates it.
- Mention code in Data Availability only when it is bundled with the dataset and needed to interpret
  files.
- For unique biological materials, reagents, cell lines, plasmids, or model organisms, use
  persistent identifiers where available and state distribution restrictions separately.
- For protocols, cite protocol repositories or include enough method detail for reproducibility.

## Sensitive and human-participant data

For sensitive data, preserve transparency without breaching consent or law.

State:

- why open sharing is not possible
- whether anonymised, aggregate, synthetic, or representative data can be shared
- where metadata or a summary record is available
- who reviews access requests
- what approval, data-use agreement, or ethics condition applies
- whether access is limited to non-commercial, academic, local-jurisdiction, or qualified users

Avoid:

- naming a single individual as the only durable access route when an institutional route exists
- implying data are available if access depends on impossible or undefined permissions
- promising public release later without a repository, date, and responsible party

## Submission-stage checks

Before finalizing, confirm:

- all accession numbers, DOIs, and URLs resolve
- embargoed/private reviewer links work anonymously where required
- restricted data metadata records are public if the records themselves are not
- supplementary files match statement wording
- data citations appear in the reference list where the journal expects them
- no claim depends on unavailable data without explanation

## Source notes

- Springer Nature research data policy requires Data Availability statements for original articles
  and asks authors to describe available data, location, and access terms.
- Nature Portfolio reporting standards require prompt availability of data, materials, code, and
  associated protocols, with restrictions disclosed to editors at submission.
- Scientific Data policy favours repository deposition, especially for primary data, and requires
  repository hosting for Data Descriptor datasets.