Data Availability Policy

This policy applies to the ESS Press book line: books, monographs, chapters, and conference proceedings. Journal articles are governed by the data policies published on the respective journals’ websites.

1) Purpose and scope

1.1. ESS Press supports transparency, reproducibility, and responsible data governance. This policy defines requirements for (a) data, materials, and code availability, (b) ethical and legal constraints, and (c) standardized Data Availability Statements (DAS) for ESS Press publications.

1.2. The policy applies to all ESS Press book-line publications that report empirical findings, computational analyses, datasets, images/figures derived from data, and/or reusable research materials.

1.3. Where an Author Agreement specifies different terms, the agreement prevails.

2) Definitions

Research data — recorded factual material commonly accepted in the community as necessary to validate research findings (e.g., datasets, survey instruments, interview guides, transcripts where permissible, geospatial data, lab measurements).

Materials — instruments, protocols, questionnaires, experimental stimuli, archival documents (where copyright permits), workflows, and supplementary files.

Code — scripts, software, notebooks, models, and configuration files required to reproduce the analysis.

Repository — a recognized platform providing persistent access, metadata, and long-term preservation (e.g., institutional repositories or discipline-specific repositories).

Persistent Identifier (PID) — DOI, Handle, accession number, or other stable identifier.

3) General principle

3.1. Authors should make data, materials, and code available to the maximum extent possible, consistent with legal, ethical, contractual, and security constraints.

3.2. Where open sharing is not possible, authors must provide a clear rationale and specify conditions under which access may be granted (controlled access, mediated access, or “available upon reasonable request”).

4) Data Availability Statement (DAS) — mandatory

4.1. Every empirical or data-dependent contribution must include a Data Availability Statement in the manuscript (for chapters—within the chapter; for edited volumes—each chapter where relevant).

4.2. The DAS must specify:

  • what data/materials/code exist and which outputs they support;
  • where they are hosted (repository name + PID/URL);
  • access status (open / controlled / restricted / upon request);
  • any embargo and its end date (if applicable);
  • restrictions and the legal/ethical basis (privacy, confidentiality, third-party rights, security, contractual limits);
  • contact point for access requests (where relevant).

5) Where and how to deposit data

5.1. Preferred option: deposit in a recognized repository that supports metadata and PIDs.

5.2. File practices:

  • provide machine-readable formats where feasible (CSV instead of PDF tables; TXT instead of images for text data);
  • include a README (structure, variable definitions, units, missing values, methods, software versions);
  • include a license for reuse (e.g., CC BY for data, MIT/Apache for code) where permitted;
  • provide versioning information (release number, date).

5.3. Where a repository cannot mint a DOI, provide a stable URL and archive strategy; ESS Press may also host supplementary files linked to the publication record.

6) Ethical, legal, and security constraints

6.1. Human participants and personal data. Data must be anonymized/pseudonymized where feasible. If re-identification risk exists, provide controlled access or share only derived/aggregated data.

6.2. Confidentiality and contracts. Where data are subject to NDAs, institutional agreements, or third-party ownership, authors must disclose limitations and provide a lawful access pathway if possible.

6.3. Sensitive and security-relevant data. Data that could reasonably create safety or security risks may not be shared openly. Provide an explanation and, where appropriate, controlled access conditions.

6.4. Copyright and third-party materials. Authors may not deposit third-party content unless permissions or compatible licenses allow it. Where not possible, provide metadata and instructions on how the materials can be accessed lawfully.

6.5. IRB/Ethics approvals. Where required, the study must have appropriate approval and consent provisions consistent with planned data sharing.

7) Data integrity and reproducibility expectations

7.1. Data and code should be sufficient to reproduce key results (tables, figures, statistical outputs), where feasible.

7.2. If complete reproducibility is not possible (e.g., proprietary datasets), authors should provide:

  • derived datasets (where lawful),
  • analysis code that can be run with substitute/open data,
  • synthetic data or example data (clearly labeled), and
  • detailed methodological documentation.

7.3. If data errors are discovered post-publication, authors must notify ESS Press promptly. Corrections are handled under the Publication Ethics Policy (erratum/corrigendum, and where necessary, retraction).

8) Editorial checks

8.1. During editorial processing, ESS Press may verify:

  • the presence and completeness of the DAS;
  • functionality of repository links/PIDs;
  • basic completeness of deposited materials (README, code dependencies, file accessibility).

8.2. ESS Press does not routinely audit raw data quality but may request additional documentation if reproducibility claims are central to the Work.

9) Templates (Data Availability Statements)

Open data (repository):
“Data and code supporting the findings of this study are available in the [Repository Name] repository at [DOI/URL].”

Open data (partial):
“Anonymized data and analysis code are available in the [Repository Name] repository at [DOI/URL]. Due to [reason], raw data are not publicly available.”

Controlled access:
“Data are available in the [Repository Name] repository under controlled access at [DOI/URL]. Access may be granted to qualified researchers upon request and subject to approval by [data custodian/ethics body] and a data use agreement.”

Available upon request:
“Due to [confidentiality/privacy/contractual restrictions], data are not publicly available. Derived data and/or code may be provided upon reasonable request to the corresponding author at [email], subject to ethical approval and applicable agreements.”

No data generated/used:
“No new data were generated or analyzed in support of this research.”

Data within the chapter/book:
“All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this chapter/book and its supplementary files.”

10) Contact

Questions regarding data deposition, repository selection, controlled access, and Data Availability Statements should be sent to: policies@ess.press