Journal Medical Libanais (JML) supports the principles of transparency, reproducibility, and openness in scientific research. The journal encourages authors to make the research data underlying their published findings available whenever ethically, legally, and practically possible. Sharing research data enhances the credibility of published work, facilitates independent verification of results, promotes collaboration, and accelerates scientific discovery.

Data Availability

Authors are encouraged to deposit the datasets, supplementary materials, protocols, software code, and other supporting research materials in recognized public, institutional, or subject-specific data repositories before or at the time of publication. The manuscript should include a Data Availability Statement describing where the supporting data can be accessed or explaining why the data cannot be shared.

Examples of Data Availability Statements include:

• The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the [Repository Name] repository at [DOI or URL].
• The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
• No new datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
• The datasets are not publicly available because they contain confidential participant information or are subject to legal or ethical restrictions.

Data Repositories

Authors are encouraged to use reliable and internationally recognized repositories that provide persistent identifiers (such as DOIs), long-term preservation, and open accessibility whenever appropriate. The selected repository should ensure that research data remain securely stored and accessible for future verification and reuse.

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Data sharing must comply with applicable ethical requirements, institutional policies, informed consent agreements, privacy regulations, and relevant national and international laws. Data containing personally identifiable information, confidential medical records, or sensitive information should be appropriately anonymized or de-identified before being shared. Where legal or ethical restrictions prevent public data sharing, authors should clearly explain these limitations in the Data Availability Statement.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that:

• The shared data accurately support the findings reported in the manuscript.
• Data are complete, well-organized, and accompanied by sufficient documentation or metadata to allow interpretation and reuse.
• Appropriate permissions have been obtained for sharing third-party or collaborative datasets.
• Any restrictions on data access are clearly explained.

Authors should retain the original research data for a reasonable period after publication and provide access to the data if requested by the Editorial Office during editorial review or in response to concerns regarding the published work.

Editorial Oversight

The Editorial Office may request access to the underlying research data during the peer review or post-publication process when necessary to verify the validity, integrity, or reproducibility of the reported findings. Failure to provide supporting data without reasonable justification may affect the editorial decision or result in further investigation in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

Compliance with International Standards

Journal Medical Libanais encourages responsible data sharing in accordance with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and internationally recognized best practices for open and reproducible research. By promoting responsible data sharing, the journal seeks to enhance research transparency, strengthen scientific integrity, and maximize the value and impact of published research.