Data Availability Policy

The Journal of Circular Economy Innovations (JCEI) supports transparent, responsible, and accurate reporting regarding the availability of research data underlying published scholarly work.

The journal recognizes that research transparency is an essential component of responsible academic publishing. Authors are encouraged to provide sufficient information regarding whether supporting research data are available, where they can be accessed, and whether legitimate restrictions apply due to ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, contractual, or intellectual property considerations.

This policy applies to research data generated, collected, obtained, processed, modeled, simulated, or analyzed in connection with manuscripts submitted to the journal.

1. Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this policy is to promote transparency regarding the evidence supporting published research while recognizing that responsible data management must consider ethical and legal limitations.

Through appropriate data availability practices, JCEI aims to:

  • improve transparency and reproducibility of published research;
  • support verification and interpretation of scholarly findings;
  • encourage responsible sharing and reuse of research resources;
  • provide clarity regarding access limitations; and
  • maintain trust in the scholarly record.

This policy applies to all research articles and other scholarly contributions where research data, supporting materials, analytical outputs, or computational resources contribute to the reported findings.

2. Research Data Covered Under This Policy

For the purposes of this policy, research data refers to information, records, measurements, observations, files, or materials used to generate, analyze, or support scholarly findings.

Depending on the research design, data may include:

  • quantitative datasets;
  • qualitative research records;
  • survey responses;
  • interview materials;
  • observational records;
  • experimental measurements;
  • environmental monitoring data;
  • material-flow datasets;
  • waste generation and recovery data;
  • life-cycle assessment data;
  • resource consumption records;
  • supply-chain information;
  • economic and policy datasets;
  • statistical datasets;
  • computational outputs;
  • simulation results;
  • model inputs and outputs;
  • coded research materials;
  • images used as research evidence;
  • source data supporting tables and figures; and
  • other materials necessary to evaluate the research conclusions.

Not every research-related file must be publicly shared. Authors should identify and report the data that materially support the findings and conclusions presented in their manuscripts.

3. Data Availability Statement Requirement

Authors should include a Data Availability Statement in manuscripts where research data contribute to the reported findings.

The statement should clearly explain whether supporting data are:

  • publicly available through a repository;
  • included within the article;
  • provided as supplementary materials;
  • available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request;
  • available through controlled-access procedures;
  • obtained from third-party sources;
  • restricted due to privacy, confidentiality, legal, ethical, commercial, or contractual limitations; or
  • not applicable because the research does not involve the generation or analysis of research data.

Authors should ensure that Data Availability Statements are accurate, specific, and consistent with the research methodology described in the manuscript.

4. Data Sharing and Repository Guidelines

JCEI encourages authors to share research data whenever appropriate and ethically possible.

Where data are deposited in repositories, authors should provide relevant information, including:

  • repository name;
  • dataset title;
  • persistent identifier or DOI where available;
  • accession number where applicable;
  • version information; and
  • access conditions.

Suitable repositories should support:

  • stable access;
  • appropriate metadata;
  • data identification;
  • citation of deposited materials;
  • version management; and
  • long-term availability.

Authors should avoid relying solely on temporary personal websites or unstable file-sharing platforms for important research data.

5. Restricted, Confidential, and Third-Party Data

The journal recognizes that some research data cannot be made publicly available due to legitimate restrictions.

Restrictions may apply to:

  • personally identifiable information;
  • confidential participant information;
  • protected organizational data;
  • proprietary industrial information;
  • commercial data;
  • security-sensitive information;
  • legally protected records;
  • contractual limitations;
  • third-party ownership restrictions; or
  • intellectual property requirements.

Where data cannot be openly shared, authors should clearly explain the reason for restriction and describe, where possible, the conditions under which limited access may be considered.

Authors using third-party datasets must comply with the applicable terms of access and should not redistribute data without appropriate authorization.

6. Human Participant Data and Ethical Protection

Research involving human participants requires careful consideration of privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent requirements.

Authors must ensure that:

  • identifiable participant information is not disclosed improperly;
  • data sharing complies with ethical approval conditions;
  • informed consent requirements are respected;
  • privacy regulations are followed; and
  • sensitive information is appropriately protected.

Removal of direct identifiers does not always eliminate the possibility of re-identification. Authors should carefully evaluate whether public data sharing is ethically appropriate.

7. Circular Economy Research Data Considerations

Research published in JCEI may involve specialized datasets related to circular economy and sustainability research, including:

  • material flows;
  • recycling and recovery systems;
  • waste management;
  • resource productivity;
  • industrial symbiosis;
  • circular supply chains;
  • product reuse and remanufacturing;
  • life-cycle assessment;
  • environmental indicators;
  • sustainable production systems;
  • consumer behavior; and
  • circular business models.

Authors should provide sufficient information regarding data sources, assumptions, system boundaries, measurement approaches, analytical procedures, and limitations to support meaningful evaluation of research findings.

Where proprietary or confidential industrial data are used, authors should transparently report relevant limitations.

8. Synthetic Data, Computational Models, and Supporting Materials

Where studies use synthetic, simulated, modeled, or artificially generated data, authors must clearly disclose this information.

Authors should explain, where applicable:

  • how data were generated;
  • assumptions used;
  • model structure;
  • parameters;
  • simulation procedures;
  • software or computational environment; and
  • limitations affecting interpretation.

Where computational materials, software code, analytical scripts, or supporting files are essential to the research findings, authors are encouraged to provide appropriate access where feasible.

9. Data Integrity, Peer Review, and Post-Publication Updates

Authors are responsible for ensuring that research data accurately support the findings reported in their manuscripts.

The journal does not accept:

  • fabricated data;
  • falsified information;
  • deliberate manipulation of research records;
  • misleading Data Availability Statements; or
  • inaccurate representation of data sources.

Editors and reviewers may request supporting information when necessary to evaluate research quality, methodology, or integrity.

If data availability changes after publication, authors should inform the journal where such changes affect the accuracy of the published Data Availability Statement.

The journal may issue appropriate updates, corrections, or notices when required.

10. Commitment to Research Transparency

The Journal of Circular Economy Innovations (JCEI) is committed to promoting responsible research practices through transparent reporting, ethical data management, and appropriate sharing of research resources.

The journal recognizes that responsible data availability strengthens reproducibility, supports scholarly collaboration, and contributes to the reliability of published research.

Through this policy, JCEI aims to balance research transparency with ethical, legal, privacy, and intellectual property responsibilities while maintaining a trustworthy scholarly record.