Data Availability Policy

The Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching (JLLLT) supports responsible research data sharing and encourages authors to make the data underlying their findings available whenever ethically, legally, and practically possible.

Data sharing can improve research transparency, reproducibility, discoverability, and opportunities for responsible reuse. However, JLLLT recognizes that research data cannot always be made publicly available because of ethical, privacy, legal, contractual, intellectual property, or other legitimate restrictions.

This policy applies to research articles and other submissions in which research data have been generated, collected, or analyzed.

1. Scope

Research data may include, where applicable:

raw or processed datasets;
survey and questionnaire data;
qualitative coding data;
interview or focus group data;
corpus data;
experimental data;
statistical analysis files;
research instruments;
computer code and analytical scripts;
software, algorithms, or computational models;
multimedia materials supporting the research.

The specific type of data and the appropriate approach to data sharing may vary according to the research methodology and disciplinary context.

2. Data Availability Statement

Authors should provide a Data Availability Statement (DAS) in the manuscript whenever research data have been generated, collected, or analyzed.

The statement should clearly indicate whether the underlying research data are:

publicly available through a repository;
available upon reasonable request;
available with restrictions or through controlled access;
unavailable because of ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, or other legitimate restrictions; or
not applicable because no new research data were generated or analyzed.

The Data Availability Statement should normally appear before the References section.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the statement accurately reflects the availability and accessibility of the underlying research data.

3. Data Sharing and Repositories

JLLLT encourages authors to deposit research data in appropriate and reputable repositories whenever feasible.

Authors may use:

discipline-specific repositories;
institutional repositories;
Zenodo;
Figshare;
Open Science Framework (OSF);
Harvard Dataverse;
Mendeley Data; or
other recognized repositories appropriate to the research field.

Where available, authors should provide a persistent identifier, preferably a DOI, and a stable link to the dataset.

Depositing data in a repository does not by itself constitute a requirement that all research data must be publicly accessible. Access conditions should reflect applicable ethical, legal, and intellectual property requirements.

Elsevier similarly recognizes several models of research-data sharing, ranging from data deposit and citation to data availability statements explaining why data cannot be shared.

4. Data Citation

Research datasets used or generated in a study should be appropriately cited whenever they are available and citable.

A dataset citation should normally include:

creator or author;
publication year;
dataset title;
repository or publisher;
version, where applicable;
persistent identifier, such as a DOI.

Proper data citation allows data creators to receive appropriate academic credit and supports the traceability of research outputs. Elsevier supports the use of persistent identifiers and proper data citation as part of responsible research-data practices.

5. Data Sharing Restrictions

JLLLT recognizes that research data may not always be suitable for unrestricted public release.

Legitimate restrictions may include:

protection of research participants' privacy;
confidential or sensitive information;
ethical restrictions;
legal or regulatory requirements;
copyright or intellectual property restrictions;
contractual obligations;
institutional restrictions;
cultural or community requirements;
security considerations.

In such cases, authors should explain the restriction in the Data Availability Statement and, where possible, indicate whether controlled access or access upon reasonable request is available.

Authors should never disclose personal or confidential research data merely to satisfy a data-sharing requirement.

6. Human Participant Data

Research involving human participants must comply with the journal's Human Research Ethics Policy.

Authors must not publicly share identifiable participant information unless appropriate consent and legal authorization have been obtained.

Interview transcripts, classroom data, student records, photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, and other potentially identifiable materials should be anonymized or de-identified where appropriate.

Where data cannot be publicly shared because of participant privacy or confidentiality requirements, the authors should provide an appropriate explanation in the Data Availability Statement.

7. Data from Third Parties

When research uses data obtained from third parties, authors are responsible for ensuring that the use and sharing of such data comply with:

the applicable data license;
copyright requirements;
terms of use;
contractual restrictions;
privacy and confidentiality requirements.

Where the original dataset cannot be redistributed, authors should provide sufficient information about the source and explain any applicable access restrictions.

8. Data and Code for Computational Research

Where code, scripts, computational models, or other software are necessary to understand or reproduce the reported analysis, authors are encouraged to make them available through an appropriate repository whenever possible.

Where such materials cannot be publicly shared, the authors should explain the relevant restrictions in the Data Availability Statement.

9. Editorial Access to Research Data

The Editorial Team may request reasonable access to research data or supporting materials during peer review or after publication when necessary to:

clarify reported findings;
assess methodological concerns;
verify research integrity;
investigate potential publication ethics concerns.

Such requests will take into account ethical, legal, confidentiality, privacy, and intellectual property restrictions.

Authors should not be required to disclose confidential or personally identifiable information where doing so would violate applicable ethical or legal obligations.

Elsevier's publication ethics policy similarly provides that authors may be asked to provide supporting research data for editorial review and should be prepared to provide access where practicable.

10. Data Retention

Authors should retain the underlying research data and supporting materials for a reasonable period after publication, consistent with:

institutional requirements;
funder requirements;
applicable laws and regulations;
disciplinary standards.

Authors should ensure that retained data remain sufficiently documented to support verification of the published findings where appropriate.

11. Examples of Data Availability Statements

Example 1 – Publicly Available Data

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are publicly available in the [Repository Name] repository at [DOI or persistent URL].

Example 2 – Available Upon Reasonable Request

The datasets supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Example 3 – Restricted Access

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Access is subject to [ethical/legal/institutional] restrictions.

Example 4 – Confidential or Sensitive Data

The data are not publicly available because they contain information that could compromise the privacy and confidentiality of research participants.

Example 5 – Third-Party Data

The data analyzed in this study were obtained from [source]. The authors do not have permission to redistribute the data. Information on how to access the dataset is available from [source/link].

Example 6 – No New Data

No new research data were generated or analyzed in this study.

12. Exceptions

This policy does not require authors to publicly disclose research data when doing so would:

violate ethical obligations;
compromise participant privacy or confidentiality;
breach applicable laws or regulations;
violate contractual or institutional restrictions;
infringe intellectual property rights;
conflict with valid data-use agreements; or
create a significant and legitimate risk of harm.

In such circumstances, authors should provide a clear explanation in the Data Availability Statement.

13. Compliance

JLLLT encourages responsible research data sharing in accordance with internationally recognized research and publication practices while recognizing that data-sharing requirements vary across disciplines.

Authors are responsible for providing an accurate Data Availability Statement and for complying with applicable ethical, legal, institutional, and funder requirements concerning research data.

Failure to provide an accurate statement or to comply with legitimate editorial requests concerning research data may result in further editorial investigation or action in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics and other applicable policies.

Contact

Questions regarding this policy may be directed to the JLLLT Editorial Office through the journal's official contact page.