A data availability statement is a short statement at the end of a research article that describes how, where, and under what conditions the data associated with the research article can be accessed. All research articles should include a data availability statement as this an important step in giving credit to data creators, and in supporting the reproducibility of research.
In journal publications, the data availability statement usually appears at the end of a journal article before the ‘references’ section. The author(s) of the article write the data availability statement, and you should always include this statement in your article prior to submission for publication.
The data availability statement provides clear information on where the data can be accessed, and whether access to the data is open or restricted in some way. It should also provide a digital reference or link to where the data can be found online. Statements to the effect of "data available from authors" or "data will be made available on request" are not acceptable as a data availability statement, as they do not provide sufficient information to genuinely enable access to the data.
You should include the following three pieces of information in your data availability statement:
Use the following examples to guide you in constructing your data availability statement. Remember to include at a minimum the following three pieces of information:
| How accessible are the data? |
What to say in your data availability statement: |
Example text:
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|---|---|---|
| Data are openly accessible in data repository. | The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in [insert repository name] at http://doi.org/ [insert DOI number], dataset reference number [insert reference number]. |
Example 1: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Zenodo.org at 10.5281/zenodo.3723939 under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0) license. Example 2: Repository: An atom-efficient, single-source precursor route to plasmonic CuS quantum dots. https://doi.org/10.5256/repository.4591.d34639. Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Zero “No rights reserved” data waiver (CC0 1.0 Public domain dedication). |
| Data are openly available in a repository that does not issue DOIs. | The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in [insert repository name] at [insert URL], reference number [insert reference number assigned to this dataset by the repository]. |
Example 1: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in GEO DataSets at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE68849, GEO accession number GDS5660. Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0) license. Example 2: NCBI Gene: Ihe1 intestinal helminth expulsion 1 [Mus musculus (house mouse)]. Accession number 107537. Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Zero “No rights reserved” data waiver (CC0 1.0 Public domain dedication). |
| Data are derived from public domain resources. | The data that support the findings of this study are available in [insert repository name] at [insert URL or DOI], reference number [insert reference number]. | Example: The datasets that support the findings of this study are openly available in Data.gov.ie under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0) license at the following locations:COVID-19 HSE Weekly Booster Vaccination Figures: https://data.gov.ie/dataset/covid-19-hse-weekly-booster-vaccination-figures2?package_type=datasetPobal HP - Deprivation Index Scores - 2016: https://data.gov.ie/dataset/hp-deprivation-index-scores-2016/resource/6480bb69-023c-47f2-813f-8689bacafa54 |
| Data weregenerated at a central, large-scale facility, available upon request. | Raw data were generated at [insert facility name]. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from [describe procedure for applying for access to the data]. | Example: Raw data were generated at FutureNeuro at RCSI and Trinity College Dublin. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author [G.C.] on request. |
| Data are not publicly available, but available to researchers with appropriate credentials in line with consent agreed with respondents. | Due to confidentiality agreements, access to the data that support the findings of this study is restricted to bona fide researchers and is subject to a non-disclosure agreement. Details of the data and how to request access are available from [insert repository where data reside / name of data manager at host institution]. | Example: The Anonymised Microdata Files (AMF) for the Growing Up in Ireland Child Cohort (9 years) data is available via the Irish Social Science Data Archive, ISSDA for bona fide research purposes only and is subject to an end user agreement. Details of the data and how to request access are available at https://www.ucd.ie/issda/data/growingupinirelandgui/ |
| Data are not publicly available to protect anonymity of participants, although some controlled access is allowed. | The data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available due to [describe reason for access restriction, and procedure for applying for access to the data and the conditions under which access will be granted]. | Example: The data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available due to restrictions outlined in consent agreements with participants and the identifying nature of the data. Data can be made available upon reasonable request and in line with the consent agreed with participants, by contacting the authors [C.G. and P. O'H.] |
| Data are not publicly available but is available on request, due to privacy/ethical restrictions. | The data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available due to [describe reason for non-sharing of data]. | Example: Given the sensitive and identifying nature of the data, and in line with the consent agreed with participants, the data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available. |
| Data are currently embargoed due to commercial restrictions (e.g. to allow time for commercialization). | The data that support the findings will be available in [repository name] at [URL / DOI link] following a [6 month] embargo from the date of publication to allow for commercialization of research findings. | Example: The data that support the findings of this study will be available in Zenodo.org at at 10.5281/zenodo.3723939 from early 2023, following a 6 month embargo from the date of completion of the study, to allow for commercialization of research findings. |
| Data are restricted by commercial, industry, patent, government policies, regulations, or laws. | Due to the nature of the research, due to [ethical/legal/commercial] supporting data is not available. [If known, describe procedure for applying for access to the data and the conditions under which access will be granted.] | Example: Due to commercial restrictions, the Drug Distribution Dataset used in this study is not publicly available. Access to the data can be requested by completing the Data Request form at www.allianceheathcaresample.com/data. |
| Data are available within the article or its supplementary materials. | The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article [and/or] its supplementary materials. | Example 1: The data supporting the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material (Appendix A) of this article. Example 2: All data underlying the results are available as part of the article and no additional source data are required. |
| Data are subject to third party restrictions. | The data that support the findings of this study are available from [third party]. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available from [the authors / at URL] [describe procedure you used to access the data] | Example: The Health data from the Quarterly National Household Survey Q3-2010 are made available by the Central Statistics Office. Restrictions apply to the availability of QNHS data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available from the Irish Social Science Data Archive at https://www.ucd.ie/issda/data/qnhsmodules/, ISSDA study number 00041-00. Access can be requested by completing an ISSDA Data Request Form for Research. |
| Publication did not use any data. | It's important to include this information, even if there is no data underpinning the article, for clarity | It's important to include this information, even if there is no data underpinning the article, for clarity Example 1: No data was used for the research described in the article. Example 2: No data are associated with this article. |
For advice on constructing the data availability statement for data types that are commonly used in the health sciences (e.g., 3D-printable models, chemical and macromolecular structures, neuroimaging data, sequence and 'omics data) please view the author guidance from Health Open Research: https://healthopenresearch.org/for-authors/data-guidelines