OPRE Code and Data Disclosure Policy

Operations Research is known for its research rigor. On the mathematical side, proofs of results are available, either in the main body or the appendix, for all to read. On the algorithmic and empirical side, Operations Research is committed to providing a similar level of transparency, to the extent possible. As such, it is expected that authors will provide all code, scripts, and data, along with instructions sufficient for others to easily reproduce the results appearing in any paper submitted to the journal. The last section of the paper should provide a data and code accessibility statement, that refers to supporting data, code, and other materials, providing a brief overview of those materials, as well as pointers/citations to any materials already made publicly available (this is strongly encouraged).

See here for suggestions on how to organize your code and data files: https://orjournal.github.io/InstructionsForAuthors.html.

Exemptions to the above policy may be granted on the basis of code or data being non-public, or because the paper is purely methodological (without need for associated code or data). For example, data with identifying information about individuals may be sensitive and, therefore, confidential. As another example, data or code may be subject to use agreements or copyrights that prohibit redistribution. Papers granted exemptions should state the reason for the exemption in the last section of the paper, and should provide as much information as possible for results transparency purposes. For papers with data under NDA protection, the authors can provide synthetic data that can be used to test the algorithm/code. For papers with personally identifiable data, the authors can provide de-identified synthetic data that match the moments of the original data without leaking personal information. For paper that use non-public code, the authors can provide pseudocode for the general readership and private access to the code to the reviewers.

The process for granting an exemption is to request one from the Area Editor in the cover letter at paper submission time. The request should include the rationale for why the paper deserves to be published without full transparency into the code or data used to produce reported results. For an exemption to be granted, there must be agreement that the holistic contribution of the paper (the combined theoretical insights and empirical deductions that can be made from available code and data) is above the publication bar. The Area Editor may choose to consult with the Data, Software, and Computation Area Editor, as well as the Associate Editor and referees, before deciding whether or not to recommend to the EiC to grant the exemption. The Area Editor will be in communication with the authors regarding the exemption request throughout the review process. The EiC has final authority on all exemption requests.