Data Sharing & Accessibility

1. Data Availability Statement

All submitted manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement indicating whether the data supporting the research findings are available, where they can be accessed, and what conditions or restrictions apply.

The statement must accurately reflect the nature of the research and the actual accessibility of the supporting data. Authors should use the statement most appropriate to their study.

A. Data Available in a Public Repository

"The data supporting the findings of this study are publicly available in [repository name] at [DOI or persistent URL]."

B. Data Available Upon Reasonable Request

"The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to applicable ethical and confidentiality requirements."

C. Data Included in the Publication

"All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary materials."

D. Restricted or Confidential Data

"The data supporting this study are not publicly available due to [specify privacy, confidentiality, ethical, legal, or contractual restrictions]. Access may be considered under applicable conditions where permission is granted."

E. Research Without a New Dataset

"No new datasets were generated or analyzed during this study. The sources supporting the analysis are identified in the manuscript and reference list."

The examples above are provided for guidance. Authors must select or adapt the statement according to the actual research materials and access arrangements. A statement that data are available upon request must not be used when the authors lack permission or the ability to provide them.

2. Data Repositories, Formats and Documentation

Authors are encouraged to deposit shareable research data in recognized disciplinary, institutional, or general-purpose repositories that provide stable access, clear metadata, and preferably persistent identifiers such as a DOI.

Examples of suitable repositories include:

Zenodo Figshare Harvard Dataverse Dryad Open Science Framework Institutional Repositories

Whenever possible, shared datasets should use accessible, reusable, and non-proprietary formats, including CSV, TXT, JSON, or other formats appropriate to the type of research.

Datasets should be accompanied by sufficient documentation to support accurate interpretation and potential secondary analysis.

Recommended Supporting Documentation
  • Dataset title, creator information, and a description of its contents.
  • Variable definitions, coding schemes, or data dictionaries where applicable.
  • Sources, collection procedures, and relevant dates or coverage periods.
  • Data-cleaning, processing, and analytical procedures where relevant.
  • Software or analytical code where sharing is appropriate and permitted.
  • Reuse licenses, access conditions, and relevant limitations.

3. Ethical, Legal and Confidential Data

Research-data sharing must comply with applicable ethical requirements, institutional policies, privacy protections, intellectual-property rights, data-use agreements, and relevant laws.

This requirement is particularly important for research in Muslim Politics, where studies may involve vulnerable student participants in schools and educationial institutions, identifiable interviews with educators and figures, institutional curriculum and diagnostic assessment records, sensitive sociocultural, and institutional archives.

Data Requiring Additional Protection
  • Identifiable interview recordings, transcripts, and personal information.
  • Survey responses containing sensitive political preferences or affiliations.
  • Restricted government records and non-public administrative datasets.
  • Confidential diplomatic, institutional, or organizational information.
  • Materials obtained under research agreements or restricted access permissions.
  • Data involving vulnerable participants or information that could expose individuals to harm.
Responsible Data Protection
  • Remove direct and indirect identifiers where appropriate.
  • Use aggregated data when individual-level disclosure is unnecessary.
  • Respect participant consent and approved research protocols.
  • Follow restrictions imposed by lawful data providers or relevant institutions.
  • Explain any limitation on sharing in the Data Availability Statement.
  • Use controlled access where feasible and justified.
Important: Authors are not required to publicly release data when disclosure would violate ethical, privacy, legal, security, confidentiality, or contractual obligations. De-identification alone may not eliminate all risks of participant identification.

4. Data Embargoes and Access Exceptions

Authors may request a temporary embargo on public access to research data where a legitimate reason exists, such as the completion of related research, intellectual-property protection, patent considerations, or other justified scholarly circumstances.

An embargo request should specify:

  • The dataset or materials subject to restricted access.
  • The reason for requesting the embargo.
  • The proposed duration and expected end date.
  • Any applicable institutional, contractual, or legal conditions.
  • The intended access arrangements after the embargo period, where appropriate.

A proposed embargo period, for example up to 12 months, may be considered where justified. Such a period is not automatically granted; requests are subject to editorial evaluation and applicable repository or institutional requirements.

Exceptions: Requests to restrict access because of privacy, confidentiality, ethical requirements, intellectual-property rights, or legal obligations are considered on a case-by-case basis. Where restrictions cannot reasonably expire, authors should explain the continuing limitation rather than assign an unsupported release date.

5. Data Citation and FAIR Principles

Research datasets should receive appropriate acknowledgment and citation. Where data are deposited in a repository, authors should provide sufficient information to identify and retrieve the relevant record.

A dataset citation should include, where available, the creator's name, publication year, dataset title, version, repository, and DOI or another persistent identifier.

MPR supports the internationally recognized FAIR Guiding Principles, which aim to improve the discoverability and responsible reuse of research data.

F
Findable Data can be identified through descriptive metadata and stable references.
A
Accessible Access conditions and procedures are clearly communicated.
I
Interoperable Suitable formats and descriptions support use across systems.
R
Reusable Clear provenance, documentation, and reuse terms support responsible analysis.
FAIR Does Not Necessarily Mean Open: Research data may follow FAIR principles even where public access must be restricted. In such cases, authors should provide appropriate metadata and explain access limitations whenever disclosure of that information is itself permissible.

6. Editorial Oversight and Compliance

The Editorial Team may assess the accuracy and completeness of Data Availability Statements and, where necessary, request access to research materials supporting submitted or published findings.

Such requests may arise during editorial evaluation, peer review, or the investigation of research-integrity concerns.

Editorial Responsibilities
  • Evaluate the adequacy and accuracy of Data Availability Statements.
  • Request clarification when data-access arrangements are unclear.
  • Consider justified restrictions arising from ethics, privacy, law, or confidentiality.
  • Request relevant underlying data or documentation where necessary and appropriate.
  • Protect confidential information received during editorial assessment.
  • Apply proportionate editorial action where serious inconsistencies or integrity concerns arise.

Authors are expected to respond appropriately to reasonable requests for supporting evidence. Where access is restricted, authors should explain the applicable limitations and identify lawful alternatives for verification, where available.

Non-Compliance: Inaccurate data statements, deliberate misrepresentation, fabrication, falsification, or serious unresolved discrepancies may result in manuscript revision, delayed editorial processing, rejection, or appropriate post-publication action. Retraction is considered only where justified by the reliability or integrity of the published research and relevant ethical guidance.

7. Contribution to Open Science and Research Integrity

MPR encourages research practices that strengthen scholarly transparency, responsible verification, and the credibility of published findings.

Appropriate data sharing can support secondary analysis, comparative research, methodological evaluation, and the development of cumulative evidence in Muslim Politics.

The journal recognizes that reproducibility and transparency take different forms across research methods. Quantitative studies may provide datasets, variable definitions, and analytical code; qualitative studies may provide methodological documentation, coding procedures, or appropriately anonymized materials; and document-based research may identify the sources and selection procedures used in the analysis.

Regardless of methodology, authors are expected to report their research sources and analytical procedures accurately while observing all relevant ethical, legal, and confidentiality requirements.