Research data policy

Research data includes all documents other than the scientific publication, i.e. the article to be published, which have been used or produced in the course of the scientific research presented and which are used as evidence in the research process, or which are commonly accepted in the research community as necessary to validate the findings and results of the research.

Data access is not just important; it's a necessity. It's the key to ensuring the verification and reproducibility of the results presented, reinforcing the importance of transparency in research and keeping the reader informed about the standards.

Consideration should be given to:

  • Protecting personal data in the project itself and for re-use by third parties.
  • Ethical aspects affecting the data are essential to guarantee the integrity and confidentiality of the persons involved.
  • Respecting and adhering to the specific requirements established by the sponsoring entity is vital to our research responsibility.
  • This journal recommends that authors deposit research data in appropriate repositories to ensure retrieval, access and long-term preservation.

The chosen repository should be a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and open-access repository offering:

  • Guidelines for data standards
  • A DOI to be used to link to the published article
  • Indications to the user on what terms the datasets deposited in a repository may be used for
  • Use of open licences, e.g. Creative Commons

This policy aims to foster scientific development and ensure that research can be validated, replicated, and analysed for other studies.

The data register of research data repositories can be consulted, bearing in mind that each repository has its own repository rules.

The article should mention that the data have been deposited in a repository and describe the type of data, the repository's name and URL, the identifier code, and the licence details for use and distribution. This information should appear at the end of the article, before the bibliographic listing, under the heading 'Availability of deposited data'.