Reproducibility Policy
Upholding Transparency, Integrity, and Trust in Scientific Publishing
At the International Journal of Life Science and Agriculture Research (IJLSAR), we are committed to strengthening the foundation of reproducible and transparent science. We believe that science progresses most rapidly and reliably when research methods, data, and analyses are accessible for validation and reuse by the broader community. This policy outlines how IJLSAR facilitates, encourages, and, where appropriate, requires reproducibility in all published work.
1. Policy Principles
Transparency: All authors must provide a clear, detailed account of their methods, analyses, data sources, and computational procedures to allow others to understand, evaluate, and build upon published findings.
Reproducibility: Results reported in IJLSAR should be described with sufficient detail and made available (when ethically and legally possible) so that independent researchers can reproduce the study using the provided materials and data.
Openness: IJLSAR actively encourages public sharing of research data, materials, code, and protocols in trustworthy repositories, while respecting ethical, legal, and intellectual property constraints.
2. Data and Material Sharing Requirements
Authors must include a Data Availability Statement for all original research and synthesis articles. This outlines how, where, and under what conditions supporting data, code, and materials can be accessed.
Whenever possible:
Datasets, analysis scripts, and supplementary materials should be deposited in publicly accessible, domain-appropriate repositories (e.g., Figshare, Zenodo, Dryad) and cited in the manuscript with a persistent identifier (e.g., DOI).
Computational studies should provide source code and any custom algorithms required to replicate the results.
If data cannot be shared due to privacy, ethical, or legal requirements, authors must clearly explain the restrictions in their Data Availability Statement and describe how transparency has been maximized within those boundaries.
3. Manuscript Preparation and Peer Review
Submissions must describe experimental and analytical methods in sufficient detail for reproducibility, including protocols, sample sizes, statistical tools, and software versions used.
Papers that rely on statistical, computational, or modeling methods must, as a condition of publication, provide access to replication files (including data and code) as permitted by law and ethics.
IJLSAR reviewers and editors may evaluate alignment between the manuscript and referenced data/code, ensuring consistency and completeness.
Authors are encouraged to include a “Reproducible Results” section in their manuscript, detailing which results have been independently reproduced and by whom, where appropriate.
4. Exceptions and Special Considerations
Sensitive or Proprietary Data: Where sharing is restricted, authors must describe the nature of the data and circumstances preventing open sharing. Where possible, metadata, aggregated data, or synthetic datasets should be provided to maximize transparency.
Human Subject Data & Confidentiality: Authors must comply with all institutional and legal requirements for privacy and data protection. Data sharing should not compromise participant confidentiality.
Third-Party Restrictions: Authors using data or materials under third-party agreements must explain the nature of these restrictions in the Data Availability Statement.
5. Guidance for Authors
Data Availability Statement Examples
“The data and code supporting the findings of this study are available in [Repository Name] at [link/DOI].”
“Due to ethical/privacy restrictions, the data are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.”
“No new data were generated or analyzed in this study.”
Best Practices
Deposit data and code in reputable repositories prior to publication.
Cite all relevant data and code in your reference list.
Clearly describe analysis workflows in the manuscript text and/or supplementary material.
6. Benefits of Our Reproducibility Policy
Enhanced credibility of published research
Greater impact and citations for accessible studies
Facilitated collaboration and accelerated scientific progress
Validation and trust within the global research community
Contact and Support
For further guidance on data, code, and material sharing, or if you have questions about how this policy applies to your work, please contact our editorial office at editor@ijlsar.org.
IJLSAR’s reproducibility policy aligns with international best practices to uphold the highest standards of scholarly publishing, trust, and open science.