IOP Publishing open data policy
This policy applies to Environmental Research: Climate and Environmental Research: Food Systems only.
Please note that the majority of IOP Publishing journals have adopted our research data availability policy. The ‘about the journal’ section on each journal’s website will confirm which research data policy applies.
Authors are required to share all research data (as defined below) that would be needed by others to verify or reproduce the findings presented in the article. This data should be publicly accessible at the time of publication.
It is recommended but not required that research data is:
- shared via a trusted repository with a persistent identifier (such as a Digital Object Identifier/DOI)
- released under a license allowing re-use by any third party or any lawful purpose
If legal or ethical reasons prevent public release, authors must provide details of these barriers and describe how others can access the data.
Stating that your data will be made publicly available upon request is not sufficient to comply with our policy on research data sharing.
Authors are additionally required to share their research data privately with the journal editors or peer reviewers during the review process upon reasonable request.
The benefits of open data
Access to data enables reproducibility of research and strengthens trust in the results. Giving access to original data, researchers allow others to learn from their practices and build on their results. Open sharing of research data can also expand the visibility and impact of your work.
Definition of research data
This policy applies to the research data that would be required to verify or reproduce the results of research reported in articles published in the journal. Research data include data produced by the authors (“primary data”) and data from other sources that are analysed by authors in their study (“secondary data”). Research data includes any recorded factual material that are used to produce the results in digital and non-digital form. This includes tabular data, code, software, images, audio, documents, video, maps, raw and/or processed data.
Data sharing methods
Data repositories
The preferred mechanism for sharing research data is via data repositories with a persistent digital identifier, such as a digital object identifier (DOI). Authors are encouraged to deposit their research data in a repository that has been widely adopted within their research community but, if none is available, authors may use a general data repository. We encourage authors to choose repositories that provide unrestricted public access to data, except in cases involving sensitive human datasets that require controlled access and Data Usage Agreements. We encourage login-free, https access without registration whenever feasible.
Authors should strive to make their data FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) where possible.
Examples of subject specific repositories can be found here.
Examples of general data repositories include:
If you share associated software and code via GitHub then we recommend that you deposit a copy in a repository that issues a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The DOI provides a permanent reference point and supports future citation of your software and code.
Further repositories can be found via https://www.re3data.org/.
Supplementary data files
Although sharing via an established data repository is encouraged, sharing research data in the supplementary data files is also permitted.
Data and software citation
Authors should cite any publicly available research data (including software) in their reference list – whether it is your own or another researchers.
References to datasets (data citations) or software (software citations) must include a persistent identifier such as a DOI. Citations of datasets or software, when they appear in the reference list, should include the following minimum information and follow journal style:
Author/Creator (Publication Year). Title. Repository/Archive Name. Identifier.
It may also be desirable to include information about two optional properties, Version and Resource Type (such as ‘dataset’ or ‘software’). If so, the recommended form is as follows:
Author/Creator (Publication Year). Title. Version. Repository/Archive Name. Resource Type. Identifier.
Human research participant data and other sensitive data
Sensitive data includes quantitative or qualitative data that could identify a research participant (“personal data”) unless participants have consented to data release, as well as non-human sensitivities such as the locations of endangered species. Authors with sensitive data should apply appropriate restrictions before sharing their data. Authors should put their data in a repository where possible and only fully restrict data access if no other sharing option is available.
Alternatives to public sharing of sensitive or personal data include:
- Deposition of research data in controlled access repositories
- Anonymisation or deidentification of data before public sharing
- Only sharing metadata about the research data
If there are ethical or legal constraints on sharing sensitive data, authors should include the following details in their data availability statement upon submission:
- A thorough explanation of the restrictions (e.g., data containing potentially identifiable or sensitive patient information)
- Contact information for a data access committee, ethics committee, or relevant institutional body for data requests
Policy exceptions
If you believe that legal or ethical reasons prevent full public release of the research data for your article, then you must provide details of these barriers and describe how others can access the data. The journal editors will review any requests for exceptions during the peer review process. Exceptions may be made in the following situations.
Third-party data
Third-party data refers to content owned by individuals or organisations other than yourself, which may be subject to copyright or other ownership rights. If you intend to use third-party data in your research, you must comply with the relevant copyright requirements and usage conditions.
If such data cannot be publicly shared, authors must include all necessary information in their data availability statement to help interested researchers apply for access. Additionally, they should provide a description of the data set and identify the third-party source.
Sensitive data
If there are ethical or legal constraints on sharing sensitive data, authors should include the following details in their data availability statement upon submission:
- A thorough explanation of the restrictions (e.g., data containing potentially identifiable or sensitive patient information)
- Contact information for a data access committee, ethics committee, or relevant institutional body for data requests
The section on human research participant data and other sensitive data contains further information on this topic.
Supplemental or unrelated research data
Research data that are not required to verify or reproduce the results reported in a submitted article are not covered by this policy.
Data availability statements
The journal requires authors to include a data availability statement in their article. The provision of a data availability statement will be verified as a condition of publication.
Data availability statements provide information on where the data supporting the results reported in the article can be found including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets generated or analysed during the study.
If the research data cannot be made publicly available, you will also be asked during the submission process to describe the reason. If the journal editors consider that the reason justifies a policy exception then the reason provided will also be published in the data availability statement. Stating that your data will be made available upon request is not sufficient to comply with our policy on research data sharing.
You can review the details of your data availability statement at proof correction stage. Statements cannot be amended after publication of the article.
Data licensing
The journal encourages research data to be made available under open licences that permit reuse freely (e.g. CC0). The journal does not enforce particular licenses for research data, where research data are deposited in third party repositories. Where research data is included in supplementary data files it will be published under the same licence as the main article.
Data formats and standards
The journal encourages authors to share research data using data formats and standards recognised by their research community. Please see www.FAIRsharing.org for more information on established data sharing formats and standards.
The journal prefers research data to be shared in open file formats – those that do not require proprietary software to access – where possible. For example, tabular data should be shared as CSV files rather than XLS files.
Submission requirements
At submission stage for your article, authors will be asked to provide the DOI, pre-registered DOI, hyperlink, or other persistent identifier associated with the research data. If you have selected to provide a pre-registered DOI, please be prepared to share the reviewer URL associated with your data deposit, upon request by reviewers.
Author responsibilities
Authors are solely responsible for the accuracy, integrity and legal compliance of any data shared via third party platforms. Peer reviewers and editors will evaluate the manuscript’s data availability statement to determine whether the authors have adhered to the journal’s data sharing policy and may request to see data as part of the review process.