Medical Science Research Bulletin

The Medical Science Research Bulletin (MSRB) is committed to promoting transparency, integrity, and reproducibility in medical research. In alignment with the guidelines of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), MSRB encourages authors to share the data underlying their research to facilitate verification, replication, and further scientific inquiry. This policy outlines our expectations for data sharing and reproducibility to ensure the highest standards of scientific rigor.

1. Purpose of Data Sharing

Data sharing enhances the credibility of published research by allowing other researchers to verify findings, replicate studies, and build upon existing work. MSRB recognizes that open access to research data fosters collaboration, accelerates scientific discovery, and upholds the principles of open science. This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to MSRB, particularly those involving empirical research, clinical studies, and experimental data.

2. Expectations for Data Sharing

MSRB expects authors to make the data underlying their published articles publicly available whenever feasible, subject to ethical, legal, and privacy considerations. The following guidelines apply:

• Data Availability: Authors should deposit their datasets in a recognized, publicly accessible repository (e.g., Figshare, Zenodo, Dryad, or PubMed Central) that assigns a persistent identifier (e.g., DOI) to ensure long-term access.
• Data Statement: All manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement in the article, specifying where and how the data can be accessed, or explaining why data cannot be shared (e.g., due to patient confidentiality or proprietary restrictions).
• Supporting Materials: Authors are encouraged to share additional materials necessary for reproducibility, such as study protocols, statistical analysis plans, or software code, in the same or a complementary repository.
• Ethical Considerations: For research involving human subjects, data sharing must comply with ethical guidelines, including obtaining informed consent for data sharing and anonymizing data to protect participant privacy in accordance with applicable regulations (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR).
• Exceptions: If data cannot be shared due to legal, ethical, or other constraints, authors must provide a clear explanation in the Data Availability Statement, including contact details for requesting access to restricted data, if applicable.

3. Reproducibility Standards

MSRB is committed to ensuring that published research can be independently reproduced. Authors are expected to provide sufficient detail in their manuscripts to enable replication of their findings. The following requirements support reproducibility:

• Methods Description: Manuscripts must include a detailed Methods section describing the study design, data collection, and analysis procedures in sufficient detail to allow replication.
• Statistical Reporting: Authors must report statistical methods, including software used, and provide access to any custom code or scripts used for analysis, preferably in a public repository.
• Transparent Reporting: Authors should adhere to reporting guidelines relevant to their study type (e.g., CONSORT for clinical trials, STROBE for observational studies) to ensure transparency and completeness.
• Supplementary Materials: Where necessary, authors should include supplementary materials (e.g., questionnaires, raw data summaries, or detailed protocols) to support reproducibility.

4. Compliance and Verification

MSRB enforces this policy through the following measures:

• Submission Requirements: During manuscript submission, authors must confirm compliance with this policy and provide a Data Availability Statement. Submission guidelines are available on our website.
• Peer Review: Reviewers are encouraged to assess the transparency of data reporting and the potential for reproducibility during the double-blind peer review process.
• Post-Publication Monitoring: MSRB may investigate concerns about data availability or reproducibility raised post-publication, following the procedures outlined in our Publication Ethics policy.

5. Handling Non-Compliance

If authors fail to comply with this policy without a valid reason (e.g., not providing a Data Availability Statement or not sharing data when feasible), MSRB may take the following actions:

• Request revisions to the manuscript to include necessary data or explanations.
• Reject the manuscript if non-compliance persists.
• For published articles, issue a correction or, in severe cases, a retraction, as outlined in our Publication Ethics policy.

6. Support for Authors

MSRB is committed to supporting authors in meeting these requirements. We provide:

• Guidance on selecting appropriate data repositories in our submission guidelines.
• Resources on anonymizing data to comply with ethical standards.
• Contact with the editorial team (editor@themsrb.org) for assistance with data sharing or reproducibility concerns.

7. Contact Information

For questions about this policy or to report concerns regarding data sharing or reproducibility, please contact the editorial office:

• Email: editor@themsrb.org
• Submission ID for Published Articles: editormsrb@themsrb.org

MSRB is dedicated to advancing open science and ensuring that our published research is transparent, reproducible, and accessible to the global scientific community.