By submitting to the journal, you indicate that you accept the Data and Code Availability Policy. In short, the default rule is that you are required to submit all code and data necessary to reproduce your work, and permit any reader of the journal to use them.
The Data and Code Availability Policy
The Review of Economic Studies endorses DCAS, the Data and Code Availability Standard [v1.0], and its data and code availability policy is compatible with DCAS.
Questions regarding any aspect of this policy should be forwarded to the Data Editor.
The DCAS requirements
The Data and Code Availability Standard sets out sixteen requirements, organized into four areas. Expand each area below to read the standard’s text. These are the criteria we use when reviewing your replication package.
Data (Rules 1-6)
| # | Requirement | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data Availability Statement | A Data Availability Statement is provided with detailed enough information such that an independent researcher can replicate the steps needed to access the original data, including any limitations and the expected monetary and time cost of data access. |
| 2 | Raw data | Raw data used in the research (primary data collected by the author and secondary data not otherwise available) is made publicly accessible. Exceptions are explained under Rule 1. |
| 3 | Analysis data | Analysis data is provided as part of the replication package unless they can be fully reproduced from accessible data within a reasonable time frame. Exceptions are explained under Rule 1. |
| 4 | Format | The data files are provided in any format compatible with commonly used statistical package or software. Some journals require data files in open, non-proprietary formats. |
| 5 | Metadata | Description of variables and their allowed values are publicly accessible. |
| 6 | Citation | All data used in the paper are cited. |
Code (Rules 7-9)
| # | Requirement | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Data transformation | Programs used to create any final and analysis data sets from raw data are included. |
| 8 | Analysis | Programs producing the computational results (estimation, simulation, model solution, visualization) are included. |
| 9 | Format | Code is provided in source format that can be directly interpreted or compiled by appropriate software. |
Supporting materials (Rules 10-13)
| # | Requirement | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Instruments | If collecting original data through surveys or experiments, survey instruments or experiment instructions as well as details on subject selection are included. |
| 11 | Ethics | If applicable, details are shared about ethics approval. |
| 12 | Pre-registration | If applicable, pre-registration of the research is identified and cited. |
| 13 | Documentation | A README document is included, containing a Data Availability Statement, listing all software and hardware dependencies and requirements (including the expected run time), and explaining how to reproduce the research results. The README follows the schema provided by the Social Science Data Editors’ template README. |
Sharing (Rules 14-16)
| # | Requirement | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Location | Data and programs are archived by the authors in the repositories deemed acceptable by the journal. |
| 15 | License | A license specifies the terms of use of code and data in the replication package. The license allows for replication by researchers unconnected to the original parties. |
| 16 | Omissions | The README clearly indicates any omission of the required parts of the package due to legal requirements or limitations or other approved agreements. |
Specific requirements
The following guidelines clarify and complement the DCAS requirements listed above, and explain how exceptions can be granted to rules 2-4.
You used confidential or proprietary data you cannot share (Rules #2-3)
The Data Editor acknowledges that practical difficulties in complying with this policy may exist, as with proprietary datasets with limited access or public use data sets that require consent forms to be signed before use.
- Requests for exemptions from this policy must be made in a cover letter to the Managing Editor at the time of first submission (see REStud’s submission instructions). The article will then be reviewed at the discretion of the Managing Editors and the Data Editor. Exceptions will not be considered later in the review and publication process.
- If you cannot include some or all of the data in your package, please check first with the data provider about whether the data may be shared with the Data Editor. We are happy to work with you and the data provider to find a solution that allows us to replicate your results, including by signing any necessary agreements. If that is not possible, we will try to obtain access to the data ourselves.
- For confidential data that you cannot include, provide a data preservation statement. We ask you to commit to preserving the data for at least five years.
- In rare cases, authors are asked not to disclose the identity of the data provider. This must be disclosed at the time of submission. In these cases, we follow the policy of the American Economic Association. Please consult it and contact the Data Editor to arrange an appropriate resolution.
You collected primary data (Rules #2,12)
Please include all survey or experimental instruments. A reference to an online appendix of the paper does not suffice: online appendices do not have a DOI. Including them in the replication package gives them a permanent home, a DOI, and a reuse license, allowing readers to cite and access them. You may also consider releasing the data in a separate record. If you do, cite that record using its DOI.
If any accompanying materials, such as experimental instructions, are not written in English, then a translation should be provided. In addition, upon acceptance, authors are expected to provide computer programs, configuration files, or scripts used to run the experiment and/or to analyse the data, and the raw data from the experiment per DCAS rule #2
If applicable, pre-registration of the research project must be documented with a Document Object Identifier for the pre-registration record in the README.
Alternatively, you can publish your data and documentation separately and cite it in the README, adding its DOI. See here for guidance.
Your paper does not use data or you only simulated data (Rule #3)
Your paper is still subject to the Data and Code Availability Standard if you used code to generate output. In that case, you must submit a replication package. If in doubt, please contact the Data Editor for clarification.
If you simulated data, you must include the code that generates it together with the code that analyzes it
State in your Data Availability Statement that you did not use primary or secondary data in your project.
You cannot reproduce your results (Rule #8)
In this case, please contact the Managing Editor and describe in detail how you would like to change the manuscript and why. The Managing Editor is the best person to judge whether the changes alter the message of the paper and whether they are acceptable. After the Managing Editor approves the changes, please forward the updated manuscript to the Data Editor.
Our replication does not exactly reproduce your output (Rule #8)
We will work with you to understand why this happened and how to fix it. This may require asking the Managing Editor for approving changes to the accepted manuscript.
Your paper received ethics approvals (e.g., IRB) (Rule #11)
Authors who collect primary data (e.g., via experiment or survey) are required to include the IRB approval documentation (or similar) from their institution.
Including statements of Rights to use and distribute the data (Rule #14)
We ask you to explicitly state the following in your README file:
- I/We certify that the author(s) of the manuscript have legitimate access to and permission to use the data used in this manuscript.
- I/We certify that the author(s) of the manuscript have documented permission to redistribute/publish the data contained within this replication package.
Including a License (Rule #15)
Authors retain the copyright to their own data and code and convey any permissions or restrictions imposed on secondary data they include in the replication package. The authors must permit others to use all files in the deposit for the purpose of replication and are encouraged to permit unrestricted access for broader uses. These permissions are recorded in a license selected on Zenodo when you create your record. We recommend a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” license.
Preparing your replication package
Finally, we ask you to follow the instructions for preparing your replication package and README — what to include, how to write the README, and how to upload to Zenodo.