Data and Reproducibility
Research claims must be supported by an accurate and sufficiently detailed account of the materials, methods, and analysis. Al-Muhafidz applies this principle in line with each discipline, including quantitative, qualitative, computational, and interpretive research.
1. Accurate Research Records
Authors must describe accurately where their data came from, how it was collected or selected, any exclusions, any transformations, and the analytical procedures used. Report any departure from the stated method where relevant, and distinguish planned analyses from exploratory ones.
Fabrication, misleading alteration, concealed selective reporting, and misrepresentation of evidence are unacceptable. Any legitimate processing of data must be explained clearly enough for readers to understand its effect on the findings.
2. Transparency Appropriate to the Discipline
- Quantitative research: describe the sampling, variables, instruments, handling of missing data, analytical choices, degree of uncertainty, and the software used.
- Qualitative research: explain how participants or materials were recruited or selected, the research context, the researcher’s position where relevant, how the analysis was developed, and how the evidence supports the interpretation.
- Computational or synthetic-data research: state clearly that the data are simulated or synthetic, and explain how they were generated, including the assumptions, parameters, software versions, and validation procedures. Simulated results must not be presented as observed findings about a population.
- Humanities and interpretive research: identify the corpus, sources, editions, the reasons for selecting them, and the interpretive framework, in enough detail for scholarly scrutiny. This includes works of tafsir, classical texts, and manuscripts.
Exact replication is not a universal expectation for every research tradition. Authors should provide the transparency needed to evaluate their claims within the approach they have adopted.
3. Preservation and Verification
Authors should keep their research records, relevant code, and supporting documents for as long as institutional, funder, legal, consent, or disciplinary rules require. Al-Muhafidz does not set one retention period for all manuscripts, and no one is required to keep data in a way that breaks their obligations to protect participants.
If the editor asks for supporting evidence, the request will be limited to what is needed to check the reliability of the findings. If sharing the material would breach consent, confidentiality, or another legitimate restriction, the author must explain the restriction and propose a lawful way to verify the findings instead.
Restricted access to data does not by itself indicate misconduct. However, if the central claims cannot be verified, the editor may take this into account in the assessment.
