Transparency And Openness Guidelines

Faunalytics is a signatory to the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines, which provide actionable steps for institutions to practice and promote transparent, reproducible, and rigorous research. Faunalytics supports the principles expressed in the guidelines and strives to adhere to the levels specified below. 

Overview

Faunalytics is committed to follow each of the TOP Guideline standards at the noted levels:

1. Citation Standards: Level 1

In experimental or analytical research collaborations in which Faunalytics is involved, all data, program code and other methods should be appropriately cited. Such materials are recognized as original intellectual contributions and afforded recognition through citation. 

1. All data sets and program code used in a publication must be cited in the text and listed in the reference section
2. References for data sets and program code must include a persistent identifier, such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Persistent identifiers ensure future access to unique published digital objects, such as a text or data set. Persistent identifiers are assigned to data sets by digital archives, such as institutional repositories and partners in the Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences (Data-PASS).
3. Data set citation example: Campbell, Angus, and Robert L. Kahn. American National Election Study, 1948. ICPSR07218-v3. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07218.v3

2, 3, 4. Data, Analytic Methods (Code), and Research Materials Transparency: Level 2

The policy of Faunalytics is to report the findings of the work that we facilitate only if the data, methods used in the analysis, and materials used to conduct the research are clearly and precisely documented and are maximally available to any researcher for purposes of reproducing the results or replicating the procedure.

When reusing data available from public repositories, we commit to providing program code, scripts for statistical packages, and other documentation sufficient to allow an informed researcher to precisely reproduce all published results.

When using original data, we commit to:

1. Make the data available at a trusted digital repository (Note: If all data required to reproduce the reported analyses appears in the article text, tables, and figures then it does not also need to be posted to a repository.)
2. Include all variables, treatment conditions, and observations described in the manuscript
3. Provide a full account of the experimental, analytical, and data-processing procedures used to collect, preprocess, clean, or generate the data
4. Provide program code, scripts, codebooks, and other documentation sufficient to precisely reproduce all published results
5. Provide research materials and description of procedures necessary to conduct an independent replication of the research.

In rare cases, despite our best efforts, some or all data or materials cannot be shared for legal or ethical reasons. In such cases, we will make a publically available statement of this omission at the time of submission. We will  anticipate data and material sharing at the beginning of our projects to provide for these circumstances. It is understood that in some cases access will be provided under restrictions to protect confidential or proprietary information. If prevented from open data sharing by ethical or legal considerations, we will:

1. Explain the restrictions on the dataset or materials and how they preclude public access.
2. Provide a public description of the steps others should follow to request access to the data or materials.
3. Provide software and other documentation that will precisely reproduce all published results.
4. Provide access to all data and materials for which the constraints do not apply.

Data, program code, research materials, and other documentation of the research process will be made available through a trusted digital repository. Trusted repositories adhere to policies that make data discoverable, accessible, usable, and preserved for the long term. Trusted repositories also assign unique and persistent identifiers. For example, these services are offered by partners in the Data Preservation Alliance for the Social Sciences (Data-PASS) and most institutional repositories. Author maintained websites are not compliant with this requirement.

1. Dissemination of these materials may be delayed until publication. Under exceptional circumstances, and only if necessary to comply with ethical standards, we may request  an embargo of the public release of data for at most one year after publication.
2. We commit to ensuring that our outputs continue to meet the above conditions, even after formal publication. 

5. Design and Analysis Transparency: Level 1

The policy of Faunalytics is to report the findings of the work that we conduct while following standards for disclosing key aspects of the research design and data analysis. We commit to reviewing the standards available for many research applications from http://www.equator-network.org/ and use those that are relevant for the reported research applications, if relevant standards are available. 

6. Preregistration of Studies: Level 1

The policy of Faunalytics is TO encourage preregistration of the experimental research that we conduct in an independent, institutional registry (e.g., http://clinicaltrials.gov/, http://socialscienceregistry.org/, http://osf.io/, http://egap.org/design-registration/, http://ridie.3ieimpact.org/). Preregistration of studies involves registering the study design, variables, and treatment conditions. 

We commit to confirming that the study was registered prior to conducting the research with links to the time-stamped preregistrations at the institutional registry, and that the preregistration adheres to the disclosure requirements of the institutional registry or those required for the preregistered badge with analysis plans maintained by the Center for Open Science.

7. Preregistration of Studies with Analysis Plans: Level 1

The policy of Faunalytics is to encourage preregistration of the experimental research that we conduct in an independent, institutional registry (e.g., http://clinicaltrials.gov/, http://socialscienceregistry.org/, http://osf.io/, http://egap.org/design-registration/, http://ridie.3ieimpact.org/). Preregistration of studies involves registering the study design, variables, and treatment conditions, including an analysis plan involves specification of sequence of analyses or the statistical models that will be reported. 

1. We commit to confirming that the study was registered prior to conducting the research with links to the time-stamped preregistrations at the institutional registry, and that the preregistration adheres to the disclosure requirements of the institutional registry or those required for the preregistered badge with analysis plans maintained by the Center for Open Science.
   1. Report all pre-registered analyses in the text, or, if there were changes in the analysis plan following preregistration, those changes must be disclosed with explanation for the changes.
   2. Clearly distinguish in text analyses that were preregistered from those that were not, such as having separate sections in the results for confirmatory and exploratory analyses.

8. Replication: Levels Not Applicable

The policy of Faunalytics is to encourage experimental study designs that incorporate meaningful evaluations of the sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of the study result(s).  Where applicable, the methodology for interrogation of these three elements (sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility) will be provided prior to launch of the study (as part of pre-registration)  and addressed in final publication of the results in the peer-reviewed literature.