The International Center for Promoting Knowledge (ICPK) expects research published through its journals to be conducted responsibly, reported transparently, and respectful of the rights and welfare of people, animals, institutions, and communities. This policy sets the publisher-wide requirements for research data availability and ethics approval. Authors must explain how supporting data may be accessed and must report the ethical oversight and consent relevant to their work.

These requirements apply alongside each journal’s author guidelines and the broader principles stated in ICPK’s Publication Ethics policy. Personal data collected through ICPK’s publishing services is handled under the Privacy Policy.

Research Data Availability

Authors are encouraged to make the data underlying their findings available wherever this can be done lawfully, ethically, and without compromising confidentiality. Sharing data can help readers understand the evidence, assess the analysis, verify results, and conduct further research. Depending on the nature of the material, availability may include data deposited in an appropriate repository, included as supplementary material, or made accessible through another clearly described route.

Every empirical manuscript should include a data availability statement. The statement should identify where the supporting data can be found and the terms under which it may be accessed. Where relevant, it should provide a stable link, identifier, repository reference, or a clear procedure for requesting access. It should also disclose any conditions that apply, such as an application process, controlled access, confidentiality agreement, or permission from the organization responsible for the data.

The statement should distinguish between public access, controlled access, availability on reasonable request, and non-availability.

When Data Cannot Be Shared

Full public release is not required where sharing would breach legal duties, ethical commitments, informed-consent terms, contractual restrictions, or legitimate confidentiality protections. In such cases, the data availability statement should say that the data cannot be shared, or can be shared only under specified conditions, and explain why.

This distinction is particularly important in the fields represented by ICPK’s journals. Social policy and education research frequently involves identifiable individuals, children, schools, families, employees, service users, or vulnerable groups. Removing names alone may not prevent identification when records contain detailed demographic, institutional, geographic, or contextual information. Public release may therefore be neither possible nor appropriate.

A precise explanation of the restriction is acceptable and is preferred to a vague statement such as “data is unavailable.” Authors should describe the category of restriction without disclosing the protected information itself. Where only part of a dataset can be shared safely, authors should state what is available, what has been withheld, and the basis for that distinction.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must have been conducted in accordance with recognized ethical standards and all applicable institutional and national requirements. Where the author’s institution or the relevant jurisdiction requires review, the research must have received ethics committee approval from an appropriate ethics committee, institutional review board, or equivalent body before the research was conducted.

The manuscript should name the approving body and give the approval or reference number where one is available. If a reference number was not issued, authors should state that fact rather than inventing or omitting the approval information. Authors must be able to provide supporting documentation if the journal’s editorial team requests it.

Approval does not replace the author’s responsibility to protect participants during recruitment, data collection, analysis, reporting, and retention. Editorial authority remains with the relevant journal’s Editor-in-Chief and editorial board.

Informed Consent

Authors must obtain informed consent to participate where required. Consent must be given voluntarily by a person capable of understanding the nature of the research, what participation involves, any reasonably relevant risks, how information will be used, and the right to decline or withdraw where applicable.

Consent to participate does not automatically constitute consent to publish identifiable information. When a publication contains information from which a person may be recognized, authors must obtain specific consent to publication. For participants who cannot legally or practically consent for themselves, consent must be obtained from a parent, guardian, or other legally responsible person, subject to the applicable ethical and legal requirements. Where appropriate, the participant’s own assent should also be respected.

The manuscript should state that informed consent for the research and, where applicable, consent to publication were obtained. If consent was waived by an authorized ethics body, the manuscript should identify that body and describe the waiver.

Confidentiality and Identifiable Information

Authors must protect the confidentiality of research participants and other affected parties. Individuals, schools, institutions, and communities should not be identifiable from a publication unless they have specifically consented to being identified.

Anonymization and de-identification should consider indirect identification as well as direct identifiers. A combination of role, location, institutional characteristics, dates, quotations, or unusual circumstances may reveal an identity even when names are removed. Authors should omit or generalize identifying detail when this can be done without distorting the research.

Where identifying detail is essential to the scholarly account, explicit written consent to its publication is required. Authors should retain the relevant consent record securely and provide evidence to the journal’s editorial team if requested, without unnecessarily transferring sensitive personal information.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional and national requirements for animal welfare, care, and use. Where approval is required, it must be obtained from the appropriate institutional committee or other authorized body before the work begins.

The manuscript should name the approving body, provide the approval reference where available, and state that the work followed the applicable requirements. Authors should also describe measures relevant to animal welfare sufficiently for the editorial assessment of the work.

When Formal Approval Is Not Required

Some work does not require formal ethics approval. Examples may include purely conceptual or theoretical research and secondary analysis limited to data already published in a form that does not create a new ethical or confidentiality concern. Whether approval is required depends on the nature of the work and the applicable institutional and jurisdictional rules; authors should not assume that all secondary data is exempt.

Where a reader might reasonably expect approval to have been required, the manuscript should briefly explain why it was not required. The explanation should identify the basis for the conclusion, such as the type of study or the applicable determination, without overstating an exemption. If an ethics committee or institutional authority formally determined that review was unnecessary, that body should be named and its reference supplied where available.

Accuracy and Editorial Follow-up

Ethics and data statements must be complete and accurate. Missing approval, inadequate consent, misleading availability claims, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential information may lead the journal’s editorial team to seek clarification or documentation and to act under ICPK’s Publication Ethics policy. Concerns discovered after publication may require correction or other action appropriate to the published record.