Code & Materials Availability Policy

Global Virology Reports (GVR) is committed to promoting the reproducibility and transparency of scientific research. To facilitate the verification, replication, and building upon of published work, this policy mandates the sharing of key research materials, including computational code and unique biological reagents.

Computational & Algorithmic Research
For studies involving custom code, software, or complex computational analyses, authors must ensure that their work is reproducible. This includes:

·       Source Code Deposition: All custom scripts, algorithms, and software developed for the study must be deposited in a public, version-controlled repository (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) or a dedicated archive that provides a persistent identifier (e.g., Zenodo, Figshare).

·       Access Information: The manuscript must include, in a dedicated "Code Availability" section, the repository name and a direct link (URL, DOI) to the code.

·       Documentation: The code must be accompanied by sufficient documentation (e.g., a README file) to allow other researchers to understand and execute it.

·       Software Environment: Authors should specify the versions of all critical software, programming languages, and packages used, and are encouraged to use containerization tools (e.g., Docker, Singularity) to capture the complete computational environment.

Wet-Lab & Biological Research
For experimental studies, authors must make unique materials available to qualified researchers for non-commercial use.

·       Sharing Obligation: All newly generated, unique biological materials (e.g., plasmids, cell lines, viral strains, antibodies) central to the study must be made available upon reasonable request.

·       Restrictions: If materials are subject to restrictions (e.g., Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), patents, or biosafety regulations), the authors must disclose these limitations in the manuscript.

·       Statement of Availability: A "Materials Availability" statement must be included, specifying the materials that are available and from whom (typically the corresponding author). If applicable, it must detail any restrictions and the process for obtaining the materials.

Enforcement and Compliance

·       A "Code Availability" and/or "Materials Availability" statement is mandatory for all applicable manuscripts.

·      Failure to comply with this policy, including unfulfilled reasonable requests for materials without legitimate justification, may result in sanctions, including the inability to publish in GVR in the future or, in severe cases, correction or retraction of a published article.