Mandating Sharing Journal Policies in the Natural Sciences

Of approximately 850 natural science, medical, and engineering journals, 132 have at least one policy statement in their “instructions to authors” concerning (1) deposition of sequence or structure data in a data bank before publication, (2) deposition or sharing of research materials upon request, and (3) the availability of supplementary publication services. Compliance enforcement mechanisms include refusal to publish without evidence of deposition and editor-author negotiation if research materials were denied. The enhanced “gatekeeper” role of these journals is a response to expressed concerns that research-related information continue to be available to the research community.