Data Sharing Policy

Data Sharing Policy

1. Purpose of This Policy

Zoological Records and Reviews (ZRR) is committed to promoting transparency, reproducibility, and openness in zoological research. This policy sets out the journal's expectations for the sharing of research data underlying published articles, including ecological, behavioral, morphological, and observational data not already covered by the journal's Nomenclatural Registration and Genetic Data Submission policy.

2. Scope of This Policy

This policy applies to all data types not addressed by genetic/molecular data submission requirements, including but not limited to:

  • Field observation and survey data
  • Behavioral and ethological datasets
  • Morphometric measurements
  • Population and demographic data
  • Ecological and environmental datasets
  • Photographic and video documentation used as research evidence

3. Data Sharing Requirement

Authors are required to make the data underlying their published findings openly and permanently available, except where legal, ethical, or conservation-related restrictions apply (see Section 6). Data should be deposited in a recognized repository at or before the time of publication.

4. Recommended Repositories

Authors are encouraged to deposit data in trusted, discipline-appropriate repositories, including:

  • Dryad
  • Figshare
  • Movebank (for animal tracking and movement data)
  • GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility, for occurrence and observational records)
  • Institutional or national biodiversity data repositories

Repositories should provide a persistent identifier (e.g., a DOI) to support citation and long-term accessibility, consistent with the FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

5. Data Availability Statement

All manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement specifying where and how the underlying data can be accessed, for example: "The data supporting this study are available at [repository link] under DOI: [identifier]." Where data cannot be shared, the statement must explain why.

6. Exceptions to Public Data Sharing

Full or partial restriction of public data access may be justified where:

  • Disclosure of precise location data could endanger threatened, endangered, or vulnerable species (e.g., poaching risk)
  • Data are subject to conservation, indigenous knowledge, or landowner confidentiality agreements
  • Legal or regulatory restrictions apply

In such cases, authors must state the restriction clearly and, where possible, provide access via a data custodian or upon reasonable request, consistent with the journal's Collection Permits Policy.

7. Sensitive Location Data

For research involving rare, endangered, or commercially exploited species, authors are encouraged to generalize or redact precise geographic coordinates in publicly shared datasets to prevent misuse, while retaining full precision in data held by the corresponding author or a designated repository under restricted access.

8. Access During Peer Review

Reviewers and editors may request access to underlying data to verify results, assess reproducibility, or evaluate research integrity. Authors must provide such access promptly and in a usable format.

9. Non-Compliance

Manuscripts that do not include a Data Availability Statement will be returned to the authors prior to peer review.

10. Policy Review

This Data Sharing Policy is reviewed periodically to ensure alignment with evolving standards in open science, biodiversity data management, and indexing requirements.