Data Sharing Policy
The African Journal of Advanced Pure and Applied Sciences (AJAPAS) encourages authors to share the data supporting their published research. Transparent and open access to research data enhances reproducibility, facilitates verification of results, promotes new discoveries through data reuse, and increases the overall impact of scientific work.
AJAPAS's data sharing policy aims to promote best practices in research data management and sharing, while acknowledging that data sharing may not always be feasible or appropriate due to ethical, privacy, or intellectual property concerns.
1. General Principles
a. Transparency: Authors are encouraged to be transparent about whether and how they intend to share their research data. b. Ethical Data Sharing: Data sharing must always adhere to ethical guidelines, data protection regulations (e.g., related to human subjects), and confidentiality agreements. c. Attribution: When reusing shared data, proper attribution to the original data creators and sources is mandatory.
2. Data Availability Statement
a. Requirement: Authors are required to include a "Data Availability Statement" in their manuscript, typically placed at the end of the main text, before the references section. b. Content: This statement should describe where and how the data supporting the findings of the study can be accessed. Examples include: i. "The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request." ii. "The data presented in this study are openly available in [Repository Name] at [DOI or URL]." iii. "Due to the sensitive nature of the research, data are not publicly available." c. Clarity: The statement should be clear and precise, providing enough information for readers to understand the data's availability.
3. Recommendations for Data Sharing
AJAPAS strongly recommends the following practices for data sharing:
a. Use of Repositories: Wherever possible, authors should deposit their research data in a recognized public repository that issues a persistent identifier (e.g., DOI, accession number). This ensures long-term preservation and discoverability. Examples include: i. Subject-specific repositories (e.g., GenBank for genomic data, PDB for protein data). ii. General-purpose repositories (e.g., Zenodo, Figshare, Dryad, Open Science Framework). iii. Institutional repositories. b. Data Citation: When data is deposited in a repository, authors should cite the dataset in their reference list alongside the published article. c. FAIR Principles: Authors are encouraged to adhere to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles for research data management. d. Metadata: Provide comprehensive metadata to describe the dataset, making it easier for others to understand and reuse. e. File Formats: Use open and widely accessible file formats for data where possible.
4. Exceptions to Data Sharing
AJAPAS recognizes that public sharing of data may not always be permissible or appropriate. Valid reasons for not sharing data publicly include:
a. Ethical or Privacy Concerns: Data involving human subjects, sensitive information, or potential re-identification risks. b. Legal or Contractual Restrictions: Data that cannot be shared due to non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property rights, or national security regulations. c. Proprietary Data: Data owned by a third party with restrictions on sharing.
In such cases, authors should clearly state the reasons for not sharing the data publicly in their Data Availability Statement.
By promoting a culture of data sharing, AJAPAS aims to maximize the societal benefit of the research it publishes and contribute to a more open and collaborative scientific ecosystem.
