This policy establishes the journal's expectations regarding the availability, preservation, and responsible sharing of research data associated with published articles. It aims to promote openness in scholarly communication while respecting applicable ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements.

The objectives of this policy are to:

• Promote transparency and reproducibility in scientific research.
• Encourage responsible sharing of research data whenever appropriate.
• Improve the reliability and verification of published findings.
• Support compliance with institutional, funding agency, and publisher requirements.
• Protect confidential, personal, and sensitive information.
• Maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

IJMSDH encourages authors to make the data supporting their published research available whenever possible. Data may be shared through recognized public repositories, institutional repositories, supplementary files, or made available upon reasonable request, provided that such sharing does not violate ethical standards, patient confidentiality, legal obligations, or contractual agreements.

The journal encourages authors to include a clear Data Availability Statement within their manuscript describing where supporting data can be accessed or explaining why the data cannot be publicly shared.

The journal recognizes that not all research data can be openly shared. Restrictions based on participant privacy, informed consent, confidentiality, national regulations, or intellectual property rights will be respected where appropriate.

For the purpose of this policy, research data refers to the information generated, observed, collected, or analyzed during the course of a research study that supports the findings reported in a published article.

Research data may include, but is not limited to:

• Raw and processed experimental data.
• Clinical datasets and observational data (where ethically permissible).
• Statistical analysis files.
• Laboratory measurements and research records.
• Survey responses and questionnaires.
• Images, graphs, and supplementary figures.
• Software code, algorithms, or computational workflows.
• Protocols, methodologies, and supplementary research materials.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that any shared data are accurate, complete, appropriately documented, and shared in accordance with applicable ethical approvals, participant consent, institutional policies, and legal requirements.

IJMSDH encourages authors to include a Data Availability Statement in every submitted manuscript. This statement should clearly indicate where the data supporting the findings of the study can be accessed or explain why access is restricted.

Examples of Data Availability Statements include:

• The datasets generated during this study are available in a publicly accessible repository.
• The supporting data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
• The data cannot be publicly shared because they contain confidential or personally identifiable information.
• No new datasets were generated or analyzed during this study.

Providing a Data Availability Statement improves transparency and helps readers understand the availability and accessibility of the research data.

Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to deposit research datasets in recognized public or institutional repositories that provide long-term preservation, persistent identifiers, and public accessibility.

Examples of suitable repositories include:

• Institutional data repositories.
• Discipline-specific repositories.
• General-purpose repositories such as Zenodo, Figshare, Dryad, or other trusted repositories.
• Government or funding agency repositories where required.

Authors should ensure that deposited datasets are properly documented and, where possible, assigned a persistent identifier such as a DOI to facilitate citation and long-term accessibility.

The journal recognizes that certain categories of research data cannot be shared publicly because of ethical, legal, contractual, or privacy obligations.

Restrictions may apply where data involve:

• Personally identifiable or confidential participant information.
• Patient privacy protected by applicable regulations.
• Institutional or contractual confidentiality agreements.
• National security or legal restrictions.
• Commercially sensitive or proprietary information.
• Intellectual property rights or patent-related considerations.

Where public sharing is not possible, authors should explain the reason within the Data Availability Statement and indicate whether access may be granted under appropriate conditions.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that any shared research data are accurate, complete, appropriately documented, and made available in accordance with applicable ethical approvals, participant consent, institutional policies, funding requirements, and legal obligations.

Authors are expected to:

• Retain original research data for an appropriate period after publication.
• Provide accurate descriptions of data availability.
• Ensure that shared datasets do not compromise participant confidentiality.
• Obtain necessary permissions before sharing third-party data.
• Respond to reasonable editorial requests regarding supporting data during the review process.

During editorial assessment and peer review, the Editorial Office may evaluate whether the information provided regarding research data is sufficient to support the findings reported in the manuscript.

Where appropriate, editors or reviewers may request clarification regarding data availability, supporting documentation, or access to underlying datasets in order to assess the scientific validity, reproducibility, and integrity of the submitted work.

Requests for supporting data will be handled confidentially and solely for legitimate editorial and peer review purposes.

Following publication, authors are encouraged to respond to reasonable requests for access to supporting research data where such sharing is ethically, legally, and practically permissible. Providing access to research data may facilitate verification of published findings, encourage scientific collaboration, and support future research.

Where appropriate, authors should:

• Respond to reasonable requests for supporting research data.
• Provide data in a format that is understandable and appropriately documented.
• Respect participant confidentiality and applicable legal or ethical obligations.
• Inform requestors of any conditions governing access to restricted datasets.

The journal may facilitate communication between authors and requestors when appropriate but is not responsible for maintaining or distributing research datasets on behalf of authors.

IJMSDH recognizes that unrestricted public access to research data is not always possible. Legitimate restrictions may apply where disclosure could compromise ethical responsibilities, participant privacy, legal obligations, intellectual property rights, or other protected interests.

Examples of acceptable exceptions include:

• Patient confidentiality and privacy requirements.
• Data protected by informed consent agreements.
• Legal, regulatory, or contractual restrictions.
• Commercially confidential or proprietary information.
• National security or public safety considerations.
• Ongoing patent applications or protected intellectual property.

Where data cannot be shared publicly, authors should clearly explain the reason in the manuscript's Data Availability Statement and indicate whether controlled or restricted access may be possible.

IJMSDH supports transparency, reproducibility, and responsible data stewardship throughout the research and publication process. The journal encourages responsible data sharing while respecting ethical obligations, participant rights, and applicable legal requirements.

The journal follows internationally recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing and considers accepted best practices relating to research data management, research integrity, and publication ethics.

The journal is committed to:

• Promoting transparency in scientific research.
• Supporting reproducibility and verification of published findings.
• Encouraging responsible sharing of research data.
• Protecting confidential and sensitive information.
• Maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

Questions regarding this Data Sharing Policy, Data Availability Statements, research data repositories, or requests relating to supporting datasets may be directed to the Editorial Office using the official contact information available on the journal website. All enquiries are handled in accordance with the journal's editorial policies and applicable ethical standards.

This Data Sharing Policy may be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect developments in open science, research data management, publication ethics, and internationally accepted scholarly publishing standards. Authors and readers are encouraged to consult the latest version of this policy available on the journal website.

Important Notice

The International Journal of Medical Science and Dental Health (IJMSDH) encourages responsible sharing of research data in support of transparency, reproducibility, and scientific integrity. Data sharing should always comply with applicable ethical approvals, participant consent, institutional policies, legal requirements, and confidentiality obligations. Editorial decisions are based on the scientific quality and integrity of submitted manuscripts and are not determined by whether authors choose to make their research data publicly available, provided that any restrictions are appropriately disclosed and justified.