104 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
104 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
# Policy Principles
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Use this file when deciding what a Nature-ready data statement must disclose.
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## Governing rules
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- Every original research article needs a Data Availability statement.
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- The statement must say what supporting data exist, where they can be found, and any access
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conditions.
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- The statement must cover data generated by the study and secondary data reused for analysis.
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- Public repository deposition is preferred. For community-mandated data types, use the required
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repository.
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- Reviewers may need access to underlying data and code during evaluation.
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- Restrictions are allowed only when they are justified and disclosed. Privacy, consent, endangered
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locations, third-party licences, commercial restrictions, and national law are common reasons.
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- Restricted data still need a durable access route: named data access committee, institution,
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controlled-access repository, application procedure, or responsible group.
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- The statement should not hide key evidence in vague language such as "data available upon
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reasonable request" unless the reason and process are explicit.
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## Minimal dataset test
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Ask whether an independent reader can inspect or reproduce the paper's central findings from the
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available material.
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Include:
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- source data for main figures and key supplementary figures
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- raw or sufficiently reusable data, according to community norms
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- processed data used for statistics, plots, model training, or validation
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- analysis-ready tables if raw data require specialized transformation
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- third-party datasets with source, version, date accessed when relevant, and licence/access terms
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- representative metadata for restricted datasets, even when records themselves cannot be public
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Exclude only when defensible:
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- data that were not used to support a result
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- purely theoretical work that generated or analysed no dataset
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- identifiable human data that cannot be anonymised or shared under consent and law
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## Availability routes
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Use one route per dataset or dataset family.
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| Route | Use when | Statement must include |
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| Public repository | Data can be openly shared | repository, DOI/accession, dataset title or scope, licence if known |
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| Controlled repository | Data are sensitive but discoverable | repository, accession/record, access committee or procedure, restrictions |
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| Supplementary/source data | Small supporting files are hosted with paper | exact file/table/source-data mapping |
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| Reused public data | The study analyses existing public data | original repository/source, identifier, version/date accessed if needed |
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| Third-party restricted | Data are licensed or owned by another party | owner/source, why not public, request route, permission condition |
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| Request-based access | No repository route is possible | reason, responsible group, eligibility, expected conditions, contact route |
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| Not applicable | No datasets were generated or analysed | concise reason; do not use for studies with any empirical data |
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## Data, code, materials, protocols
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Data Availability is not a substitute for code, materials, or protocol availability.
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- Put custom code in a Code Availability section when the journal separates it.
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- Mention code in Data Availability only when it is bundled with the dataset and needed to interpret
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files.
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- For unique biological materials, reagents, cell lines, plasmids, or model organisms, use
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persistent identifiers where available and state distribution restrictions separately.
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- For protocols, cite protocol repositories or include enough method detail for reproducibility.
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## Sensitive and human-participant data
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For sensitive data, preserve transparency without breaching consent or law.
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State:
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- why open sharing is not possible
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- whether anonymised, aggregate, synthetic, or representative data can be shared
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- where metadata or a summary record is available
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- who reviews access requests
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- what approval, data-use agreement, or ethics condition applies
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- whether access is limited to non-commercial, academic, local-jurisdiction, or qualified users
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Avoid:
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- naming a single individual as the only durable access route when an institutional route exists
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- implying data are available if access depends on impossible or undefined permissions
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- promising public release later without a repository, date, and responsible party
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## Submission-stage checks
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Before finalizing, confirm:
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- all accession numbers, DOIs, and URLs resolve
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- embargoed/private reviewer links work anonymously where required
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- restricted data metadata records are public if the records themselves are not
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- supplementary files match statement wording
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- data citations appear in the reference list where the journal expects them
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- no claim depends on unavailable data without explanation
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## Source notes
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- Springer Nature research data policy requires Data Availability statements for original articles
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and asks authors to describe available data, location, and access terms.
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- Nature Portfolio reporting standards require prompt availability of data, materials, code, and
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associated protocols, with restrictions disclosed to editors at submission.
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- Scientific Data policy favours repository deposition, especially for primary data, and requires
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repository hosting for Data Descriptor datasets.
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