Data Availability Requirements

International Journal of Thorax supports responsible data sharing for clinical, translational, and population health research.

Data sharing must protect participant privacy and comply with ethical, legal, and institutional requirements.

All submissions must include a Data Availability Statement describing where underlying data can be accessed and any restrictions that apply.

Acceptable options include public repositories, controlled access, availability upon reasonable request, or embargoed release with a clear timeline.

For clinical trials, provide registry information and data sharing plans, and share de identified datasets when possible.

For imaging studies, use appropriate imaging repositories or controlled access systems and include acquisition parameters.

For physiologic or monitoring datasets, provide codebooks and metadata to support reuse and transparency.

Where possible, assign DOIs to datasets so they can be cited and tracked alongside the article.

If embargoes apply, specify the timeline and rationale. Data statements should clarify licensing terms and restrictions.

For third party datasets, describe access criteria and expected response timelines for requests.

Include software versions and analytic code or scripts when possible to support reproducibility.

If data cannot be shared, explain why and consider providing aggregated or anonymized results to support verification.

Provide clear data access instructions to reduce delays for readers and reviewers.

Use controlled access repositories when privacy concerns limit open sharing.

Include codebooks and variable definitions to support secondary analysis.

For imaging data, include resolution, magnification, and analysis methods.

State whether data are available immediately or after an embargo period.

Data citations support recognition for shared resources and improve reuse tracking.

Explain any restrictions related to confidentiality, legal agreements, or third party ownership.