• Data availability statements are expected where data support the article
• Sensitive data may be restricted
• Data should be cited where possible

Data availability statements

Where data, materials, code, transcripts, images, observations, or other evidence support an article, authors are expected to include a data availability statement.

Examples include: data are openly available in a named repository; data are available on reasonable request; data are restricted because of consent, privacy, legal, commercial, or ethical limits; or no new data were created or analysed.

Sensitive data and privacy

• Data sharing must respect consent, ethics approval, confidentiality, GDPR where relevant, commercial sensitivity, community agreements, intellectual property, and safety constraints.
• Authors should not publish identifiable personal data, sensitive locations, images, quotations, community identifiers, or otherwise sensitive information where disclosure would breach consent, privacy, confidentiality, legal duties, or safety expectations.

Integrity, retention, and citation

Authors should retain underlying evidence for a reasonable period after publication so that editors can investigate credible questions about accuracy, ethics, or reproducibility.

Datasets, code, materials, and repositories should be cited where possible, using persistent identifiers where available.