Data Sharing & Availability Policy

Global Virology Reports (GVR) is committed to promoting transparency, reproducibility, and the advancement of scientific knowledge. To this end, we require that all data supporting the results in published articles be made publicly and freely available without restriction, except where legal, ethical, or privacy constraints apply.

Data Deposition Mandate
Authors are required to deposit the primary data underlying their findings in a publicly accessible, field-specific, and reputable data repository prior to manuscript submission. Where a field-specific repository exists, it should be used. General-purpose repositories are acceptable alternatives.

·       Examples of Repositories:

-   Genomic/Sequencing Data: GenBank, SRA, EMBL-EBI

-   Proteomics Data: PRIDE, PeptideAtlas

-   Structures: PDB, EMDB

-   General/Multidisciplinary: Figshare, Zenodo, Dryad

Data Availability Statement
A Data Availability Statement (DAS) is mandatory for all published articles and must be included in a dedicated section before the reference list. This statement must clearly articulate how and where the data can be accessed and must include the following:

·       Repository Name: The official name of the public repository where the data is housed.

·       Persistent Identifier: The Digital Object Identifier (DOI), accession number, or a stable, direct URL that links directly to the dataset.

·       Details of Restrictions (if applicable): If public deposition is not possible due to legitimate reasons (e.g., patient privacy, national security), the statement must explain the nature of the restrictions and outline the conditions under which the data can be accessed by other researchers (e.g., through a data use agreement with the corresponding author or a managed access repository).

Acceptable Justifications for Restricted Access
While full public access is the default expectation, legitimate reasons for restricting access include:

·       Privacy and Confidentiality: Data derived from human participants that cannot be fully de-identified.

·       Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Restrictions imposed by national security laws, export control regulations, or indigenous data sovereignty agreements.

·       Third-Party Rights: Data owned by a third party that the authors do not have permission to redistribute.

In such cases, authors must still provide a DAS that explains these restrictions and provides a pathway for qualified researchers to request access.

Data Citation
Authors are encouraged to formally cite any datasets used in their research, including their own deposited datasets, in the reference list.

Compliance
Compliance with this policy is a condition for publication. Manuscripts that lack a Data Availability Statement or that do not provide adequate data access information will not be sent for peer review. For published articles, failure to provide data upon reasonable request may lead to a correction or retraction.