Open Science Policy

EPSIR adheres to the principles of Open Science, promoting a publishing model that fosters transparency, collaboration, and the reuse of knowledge. In this regard, the journal:

  • Publishes all its content in open access, under Creative Commons licenses that ensure free consultation and non-commercial reuse.

  • Encourages authors to deposit the research data underlying their articles in institutional or thematic open-access repositories, preferably integrated into the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), in accordance with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), as promoted by the international GO FAIR initiative.

  • Assigns persistent identifiers (DOI) to all its articles and facilitates linking to supplementary materials through interoperable identifiers.

  • Participates in digital preservation systems and metadata sharing initiatives that enable the harvesting and dissemination of content through repositories and aggregators.

This commitment to Open Science enhances the quality, transparency, and impact of the knowledge generated in the field of public and social innovation.

Best Practices for Research Data Deposition

Data deposition should not be regarded as a one-time task at the end of a research project, but rather as an integral process that begins with the study design and continues throughout its entire life cycle. To ensure proper and ethical data deposition, the following actions are recommended:

  • Data selection and preparation: Raw data must be reviewed, cleaned, and processed to generate a coherent final dataset. A master copy of the final version should be created to ensure its integrity and long-term authenticity.

  • Determining the level of access: Not all data must necessarily be made publicly available. It is essential to assess whether there are legal or ethical restrictions, such as copyright, confidentiality, privacy, or personal data protection.

  • Anonymization of personal data: When working with sensitive information, proper anonymization should be applied to prevent direct or indirect identification of the individuals involved.

  • Repository selection: When selecting a repository for data deposition, aspects such as thematic specialization, storage capacity, preservation policies, assignment of persistent identifiers (such as DOIs), embargo options, and available licenses to govern data use should be considered.

  • Accompanying documentation: The data should be accompanied by clear documentation (metadata) to facilitate their discovery, understanding, and reuse by other researchers.

  • Linking to publications: If the data support a scientific publication, it is recommended to include a link in the article to the DOI of the deposited dataset, thereby promoting traceability and transparency of results.

Considerations on Limitations to Data Sharing

EPSIR acknowledges that not all datasets are intended to be shared without restrictions. It is important to recognize certain limitations:

  • Sensitive data: When data contain confidential, personal, or legally protected information, compliance with the applicable regulations must be ensured. Anonymization is key to enabling access without compromising ethical standards.

  • Shared or external ownership: If the data do not exclusively belong to the researchers who collected them, or if multiple parties hold rights over them, consent from all stakeholders is required before dissemination.

  • Economic or strategic value: Some data may have commercial implications or be protected by intellectual property rights. In such cases, careful consideration is needed regarding when and how to share them, and whether an embargo period should be established prior to public release.