Research Data

Policy and principles on research data.

Studies involving humans and animals

If the manuscript reports results of studies of either human subjects or materials obtained from human subjects, state in the materials and methods section that the study was approved by the appropriate institutional review board (IRB) and/or that appropriate informed consent was obtained from human subjects. Copies of signed consent forms from identifiable persons appearing in any photographs submitted with the manuscript must be emailed to The Innovation editorial office (editorial-office@the-innovation.org) or included in the submission file at the time of submission. To avoid violation of HIPAA regulations, the consent form should state that subjects understand that their identity (but not their medical records) will be divulged to The Innovation office by the transmission of the signed consent form. Alternatively, a member of the institution’s IRB can send a letter confirming that signed consent forms have been obtained from the individuals pictured in the manuscript, without naming the individuals. A manuscript cannot be processed until these consent forms or a letter from the IRB is received.

All experiments on live vertebrates or higher invertebrates must be performed in accordance with relevant institutional and national guidelines and regulations. In the manuscript, a statement identifying the committee approving the experiments and confirming that all experiments conform to the relevant regulatory standards must be included in the materials and methods section. The editors reserve the right to seek comments from reviewers or additional information from authors on any cases in which concerns arise.

Distribution of materials and data

An implicit term and condition of publishing in Innovation Press is that authors be willing to distribute any materials, data sets, and protocols used in the published experiments to qualified researchers for their own use. Materials include but are not limited to cells, DNA, antibodies, reagents, organisms, and mouse strains or, if necessary, the relevant embryonic stem cells. These materials must be made available with minimal restrictions and in a timely manner, but it is acceptable to request reasonable payment to cover the cost of provision and transport of materials. If there are restrictions to the availability of any materials, data, or information, these must be disclosed in the cover letter and in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript at the time of submission.

All original research manuscripts that contain data, such as serials of nucleic acids and proteins, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), copy number variation (CNV), microarray data, and macromolecular structures (including structure factors) determined by X-ray crystallography, must have a clear availability statement that explains the limitations on access and use and summarizes the data that are available. Data must also be sent to editors and peer reviewers upon request so they can assess the work.

Clinical trials that started accepting participants on or after January 1, 2019, in accordance with ICMJE recommendations, ought to include a data sharing plan in their registration materials. The statement that is submitted, published with the manuscript, and updated in the registry record should all reflect any modifications made to the data sharing plan after registration.

Although Innovation Press does not require authors to deposit genotype data to a public database, we do encourage this practice. We do ask that authors include genotype data in their supplemental materials or provide a website at which readers would be able to gain access to such data. If such data presentations are not possible, we ask that The Innovation authors accommodate legitimate requests for population-genetics data provided that there are no IRB restrictions.

Please provide a figure or table that summarizes the full results of your genome-wide scan.

In addition, the authors are encouraged to contribute additional information to the appropriate databases. Authors are also encouraged to deposit materials used in their studies to the appropriate repositories for distribution to researchers.

Please contact us (editorial-office@the-innovation.org) if you would like advice about how to share data and/or examples of repositories that facilitate sharing large data sets.