Data Sharing and Reproducibility

IJIEFER Policies on Data Sharing and Reproducibilit

1. Introduction and Purpose

The International Journal of Islamic Finance and Economics Research (IJIEFER) upholds principles of transparency, academic integrity, and reproducibility in research. This policy outlines IJIEFER’s expectations for data sharing, data accessibility, methodological transparency, and reproducibility of results, while respecting ethical, legal, and Shariah considerations related to financial and socio-economic data.

2. Scope of Application

This policy applies to all research submissions, including empirical studies, survey-based research, case studies, computational models, simulations, and qualitative analyses that rely on data or methodologies that influence research conclusions.

3. Data Availability Requirements

Authors must provide a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript, clearly indicating the status of the data used in the study. The statement should specify whether:

Data are openly accessible in a public repository;

Data are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author;

Data cannot be shared due to legal, contractual, ethical, commercial, or Shariah-compliant confidentiality restrictions (with justification).

Data Availability Statements will be published alongside the final article.

4. Ethical, Legal, and Shariah Considerations

IJIEFER acknowledges that data in Islamic finance and economics may involve confidentiality constraints, including:

Client financial or transactional data

Personal identifiable information (PII)

Proprietary institutional datasets

Non-public financial reports

Data protected under Shariah confidentiality principles (amanah)

Where such restrictions apply, authors must:

Provide a clear justification for non-disclosure;

Describe procedures for conditional access, if applicable;

Confirm ethical clearance where research involves human subjects.

Authors conducting research involving human participants must comply with relevant institutional and national ethical review requirements.

5. Accepted Data Repositories

When sharing data, authors are encouraged to use reputable repositories that provide persistent identifiers (e.g., DOI). Suitable options include:

Institutional repositories

Discipline-specific repositories

General repositories (e.g., Zenodo, Figshare, Dryad)

Data archives for social sciences (e.g., UK Data Service, ICPSR)

Data must be deposited in formats that support long-term access.

6. Reproducibility of Methods and Analyses

To support reproducibility, authors must provide sufficient methodological detail to enable independent verification. Manuscripts should include:

Clear descriptions of data sources and collection methods

Survey instruments or interview protocols (where permissible)

Statistical models and analytical procedures

Software, libraries, and version numbers

Computational scripts or workflows (where relevant)

For qualitative research, authors must describe coding, validation, or thematic analysis procedures to ensure methodological transparency.

7. Code and Software Sharing

Research involving computational methods, economic modelling, simulations, or machine learning should include:

Access to source code or scripts in a public repository (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)

Documentation that enables reuse

Version identifiers or digital object identifiers (DOI) where available

If code sharing is restricted (e.g., due to proprietary licenses), authors must provide an explanation.

8. Peer Review Data Access

During the review process, editors and reviewers may request access to underlying data or materials to verify claims. Authors are expected to comply within reasonable, ethical, and legal limits. Sensitive data may be reviewed through controlled access or non-disclosure arrangements.

9. Compliance and Enforcement

Compliance with this policy forms part of the journal’s publication requirements. Failure to provide a Data Availability Statement or adequate transparency may result in:

Requests for revision

Delay in acceptance

Rejection of the manuscript

Post-publication concerns regarding undisclosed data irregularities may lead to corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions in alignment with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) principles.

10. Data Retention

Authors must ensure that shared data, code, and relevant research materials remain available for a minimum of five (5) years following publication unless prevented by legal or contractual obligations.

11. Periodic Review of Policy

This policy may be updated periodically to reflect advancements in open science practices, Islamic financial research standards, and international academic publishing norms.