This journal supports best practices in research openness and transparency. The policies below outline our expectations for authors to help ensure that the research findings we publish are as transparent as possible.

Data availability

All manuscripts submitted to this journal must contain a Data Availability Statement, explaining where and how readers can access the materials underpinning the research published in the manuscript. Data Availability Statements should be placed in the back matter of your manuscript, before the References.

Whenever possible, we require all data underpinning your research to be made available to readers through an appropriate repository. It is not acceptable for your Data Availability Statement to say that data are “available on request” from the authors. If you cannot make your data publicly available due to ethical or legal concerns, please contact the editorial office to discuss an exemption to this policy. Your Data Availability Statement should also explain any restrictions on access to the data.

Appropriate repositories are ones that provide persistent identifiers and have robust preservation policies, ensuring the long-term integrity of published research.