Data Sharing Policy

NJRST supports responsible and ethical sharing of research data and related materials where appropriate. Data sharing can strengthen transparency, accountability, research integrity, reproducibility, scholarly reuse and public trust.

At the same time, the journal recognises that not all research data can or should be made publicly available. Restrictions may apply where data involve human participants, privacy, confidential institutional information, Indigenous knowledge, traditional knowledge, sensitive environmental or biodiversity information, commercial confidentiality, legal restrictions or vulnerable communities.

Scope of the policy

This policy applies to research data and related materials that support the findings, analysis or conclusions presented in manuscripts. Research data may include, but are not limited to:

  • datasets;
  • survey responses;
  • interview transcripts;
  • field notes;
  • observation records;
  • laboratory results;
  • images, audio or video recordings;
  • maps and geospatial information;
  • software, code or algorithms;
  • instruments, questionnaires or protocols;
  • analytical memos;
  • coding frameworks;
  • documents analysed as part of the research; and
  • supplementary materials required to understand or verify the findings.

Data availability statement

Authors are required to include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript. The statement should explain whether the data supporting the article are available, where they can be accessed and under what conditions.

Where data cannot be shared, the statement should explain why access is restricted. Acceptable reasons may include ethical approval conditions, participant confidentiality, privacy protection, institutional restrictions, copyright limitations, Indigenous knowledge protections, contractual obligations or the sensitive nature of the data.

Responsible data sharing

Where possible and appropriate, authors are encouraged to deposit research data in a recognised institutional, disciplinary or general-purpose repository that provides a persistent identifier, such as a DOI or stable URL.

Data should be shared with sufficient documentation to support interpretation, such as metadata, codebooks, variable descriptions, interview guides, protocols, scripts or methodological notes.

Authors remain responsible for ensuring that they have the necessary permissions, consent and ethical approval to share data.

Ethical and legal restrictions

NJRST does not require authors to make data publicly available where doing so would compromise ethical, legal, cultural, professional or confidentiality obligations.

Authors must not share data that could identify research participants unless explicit consent has been obtained and ethical approval allows for such sharing. This includes direct identifiers, indirect identifiers and contextual details that could make individuals, communities, institutions or groups identifiable.

Examples of Data Availability Statements

Authors may adapt one of the following statements:

Data openly available:
The data supporting the findings of this study are openly available in [repository name] at [DOI or URL].

Data available on request:
The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Access may be subject to ethical approval, participant consent and institutional requirements.

Data not publicly available:
The data supporting the findings of this study are not publicly available because they contain information that could compromise participant privacy, confidentiality or ethical obligations.

No new data generated:
No new research data were generated or analysed in this study.

Data included in the article:
All data supporting the findings of this study are included within the article.

Updated: 21 May 2026