JPOII requires a data and materials availability statement for research articles. Transparency should support critical assessment while respecting consent, confidentiality and justified access restrictions.

Availability statement

Identify the data, code, instruments, protocols and supporting documents that underpin the analysis. Provide repository links and persistent identifiers where available, specify versions and licences, and describe access conditions. If no new data were created, state this and identify the sources used.

If materials cannot be shared openly, explain the reason and which parts can be made available. Describe a feasible controlled-access procedure only when one actually exists. A statement that data are “available on request” should identify who can authorize access and the applicable conditions; it must not imply unrestricted access to protected information.

Documentation and analytical transparency

Provide documentation sufficient to understand how observations, variables, cases and exclusions were constructed. Where sharing is permissible, include analytic code and information about the software and dependencies needed to interpret it. Report deviations from protocols and distinguish exploratory analyses.

For documentary and legal research, identify source provenance, selection rules and relevant dates. For interviews or fieldwork, describe instruments and analytical procedures without publishing identifying details. Redacted, aggregated or synthetic examples may support understanding, but must be labelled accurately and must not be represented as original observations.

Sensitive and restricted materials

Do not deposit confidential public-sector records, identifiable whistleblower accounts, protected personnel files or other restricted evidence in an open repository without an appropriate basis. Consider indirect identification and the risks of combining files. Editors may request further explanation or appropriately protected supporting evidence; public release is not a substitute for ethical research.

The Confidentiality & Sensitive Information policy governs these situations. Explain restrictions in the published statement while avoiding disclosure of the restricted information itself.

Transparency guidance

The Transparency and Openness Promotion Guidelines offer a useful framework for disclosing research plans, materials, code, data and reporting practices. Authors should apply relevant practices to their design; this reference does not assert a certification or formal programme participation by JPOII.

Updated 5 October 2026 · Questions: JPOII Editorial Office