Editor’s Note
Readers of Public Opinion Quarterly know that a basic principle of scientific inquiry is transparency. Confidence in research findings increases to the degree that the research community is able to assess the methods and data upon which they are based.
The AAPOR Code of Professional Ethics and Practices embodies this principle. In its Standards for Minimal Disclosure, the Code lists methodological and sponsorship information that should be made available in connection with publicly released survey reports. But, while the Code is essential to the workings of POQ, it is not sufficiently explicit for the journal’s purposes about matters of data verification. This note outlines POQ’s policy in this area, which is reiterated in the journal’s most recent Notice to Contributors (available on the journal’s Web site, www.poq.oxfordjournals.org).
Public Opinion Quarterly subscribes to the policy on data verification of the American Psychological Association, as promulgated in the Association’s Publication Manual (5th Edition, 2001, p. 354). Readers should consult the Manual for full details of the policy. An excerpt provides the essence:
To permit competent professionals to confirm the results and analyses, authors are expected to retain raw data for a minimum of 5 years after publication of the research. Other information related to the research (e.g., instructions, treatment manuals, software, details of procedures) should be kept for the same period. This information is necessary if others are to attempt replication. Authors are expected to comply promptly and in a spirit of cooperation with such requests. . . Sometimes special concerns must be addressed, such as confidentiality of the participants and proprietary or other concerns of the sponsor of the research. . . Generally, the costs of complying with the request should be borne by the requester.
This policy covers manuscripts submitted to the journal beginning January 1, 2006. Authors should be aware of their responsibilities under the policy and should be prepared to comply in the event that their papers are accepted for publication.
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