Data Sharing Policy

The Journal of Libya for Geographical Studies (JLGS) is committed to promoting the principles of transparency, research integrity, and the verifiability of published research findings. The journal encourages authors to make available the data and research materials that support the findings reported in their manuscripts, whenever this is ethically and legally possible.

Authors are responsible for retaining the underlying data on which their research is based and for making such data available when necessary to verify the scientific findings, in accordance with the nature of the research and applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Research data may include, depending on the nature of the study, statistical, quantitative, and qualitative data; geographic and spatial data; maps; survey and questionnaire data; images; tables; software or source code; and other materials that contribute to supporting the published findings.

The journal encourages authors to deposit supporting data in reliable public, institutional, or subject-specific repositories, where appropriate, and to provide the name of the repository and a persistent link or digital object identifier (DOI), where available.

Authors are required, where appropriate, to include a Data Availability Statement specifying whether the data supporting the research are available and explaining how and where they can be accessed.

Where data cannot be made publicly available due to privacy, confidentiality, legal or ethical requirements, intellectual property rights, institutional restrictions, or other legitimate considerations, authors must provide a clear explanation of why the data cannot be shared and, where possible, indicate the procedures or conditions under which access may be granted.

Authors are responsible for protecting the privacy of participants and maintaining the confidentiality of their identities, particularly when dealing with personal or sensitive data. Any information that could lead to the identification of individuals must be removed or appropriately anonymized before the data are made available to editors, reviewers, or the public, as appropriate to the nature of the data and applicable requirements.

Authors must also respect intellectual property rights and legal rights relating to data obtained from other sources or organizations and must not share any data for which they do not have the necessary rights or permissions.

The Editorial Board may request access to supporting research data, when necessary, to verify the validity of the findings or to address matters relating to research integrity. Any data obtained through such procedures will be handled confidentially and in accordance with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

The journal emphasizes that the absence of publicly available data shall not, in itself, constitute grounds for rejecting a manuscript, provided that the author has a legitimate reason related to privacy, confidentiality, legal or ethical requirements, or the nature of the data.

The journal applies this policy in a manner appropriate to the diverse nature and methodologies of geographical research, while promoting transparency, research integrity, and the verifiability and potential reuse of research findings, without compromising the rights of authors, participants, or data owners.