Research Data Policy

Auna Press recognizes the importance of responsible research data management in promoting transparency, reproducibility, research integrity, and the advancement of scientific knowledge. Authors are encouraged to manage and share research data responsibly while respecting ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property requirements.

1. Purpose

This Research Data Policy establishes principles for the responsible management, preservation, sharing, and use of research data associated with articles published by Auna Press.

The policy aims to promote transparency and reproducibility while protecting participants, confidential information, and legitimate intellectual property rights.

2. Author Responsibility

Authors are responsible for ensuring that research data are collected, managed, analyzed, stored, and reported in accordance with applicable ethical standards and institutional requirements.

Authors should ensure that:

  • data are accurately represented in the manuscript;
  • research procedures are documented appropriately;
  • data are securely stored;
  • relevant ethical and legal requirements are followed;
  • data are not fabricated, falsified, or manipulated improperly; and
  • data supporting the reported findings are available when appropriate and ethically permissible.

3. Data Availability

Authors are encouraged to provide a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript.

Depending on the circumstances, an appropriate statement may indicate that:

  • the data are publicly available in a repository;
  • the data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request;
  • the data are subject to ethical or legal restrictions;
  • the study did not generate or analyze datasets; or
  • the data are contained within the article and/or supplementary materials.

4. Data Sharing

Auna Press encourages authors to share research data that support the findings of their published articles whenever possible.

Shared data should be accompanied by sufficient documentation to allow other researchers to understand and, where appropriate, reuse the data.

Authors may deposit data in suitable:

  • institutional repositories;
  • disciplinary repositories;
  • general-purpose research data repositories; or
  • other trusted data-sharing platforms.

5. Ethical and Privacy Considerations

Research data involving human participants must be handled in accordance with applicable ethical standards, privacy requirements, and institutional regulations.

Authors must not publicly share personally identifiable or sensitive information without appropriate authorization, consent, anonymization, or other lawful and ethical safeguards.

Where data cannot be publicly shared because of privacy, confidentiality, legal, contractual, or ethical restrictions, authors should clearly explain the applicable restrictions in the Data Availability Statement.

6. Anonymization and Confidentiality

Before sharing research data, authors should take appropriate measures to protect the identity and confidentiality of research participants and other individuals whose information is contained in the dataset.

Data should be anonymized or de-identified where necessary and appropriate.

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that data sharing does not compromise participant confidentiality or violate applicable regulations.

7. Data Integrity

Research data must accurately represent the procedures and findings reported in the manuscript.

The following practices are prohibited:

  • fabrication of data;
  • falsification of data;
  • deliberate manipulation of data to produce misleading findings;
  • unauthorized alteration or deletion of relevant research records; and
  • misrepresentation of data sources or collection procedures.

Concerns regarding data integrity may be investigated in accordance with applicable publication-ethics procedures.

8. Data Availability Statement

Auna Press encourages authors to include a clear Data Availability Statement in every research article where applicable.

Examples include:

Publicly available data:

"The data supporting the findings of this study are publicly available in [repository name] at [persistent identifier]."

Available upon request:

"The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request."

Restricted data:

"The data are not publicly available due to privacy, ethical, or confidentiality restrictions but may be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to applicable requirements."

No applicable dataset:

"This study did not generate or analyze datasets."

9. Data Citation

When research data are deposited in a repository, authors should provide appropriate citation information and, where available, a persistent identifier such as a DOI.

Researchers who reuse datasets should properly acknowledge and cite the original data creators and repository.

10. Supplementary Data

Authors may provide supporting datasets, tables, figures, instruments, code, or other research materials as supplementary files where appropriate.

Supplementary materials should be clearly labeled and directly relevant to the published research.

11. Access to Data During Review

Editors and reviewers may request access to relevant research data when necessary to evaluate the validity, transparency, or reproducibility of the research.

Authors should provide reasonable access to supporting information when ethically, legally, and technically possible.

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of any research data received during the peer-review process.

12. Data Retention

Authors are encouraged to retain research data and relevant research records for a reasonable period consistent with institutional requirements, applicable regulations, disciplinary standards, and the nature of the research.

Authors should maintain appropriate documentation to support the integrity and verification of published findings.

13. Data Corrections and Concerns

If errors, inconsistencies, or concerns regarding research data are identified after publication, Auna Press may request clarification or supporting documentation from the authors.

Depending on the outcome of the assessment, appropriate editorial action may include publication of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction.

14. Policy Review

This Research Data Policy may be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect developments in research integrity, data management, privacy protection, open science, and scholarly publishing practices.