This page states BMU-wide publishing principles. It does not replace journal-specific author guidelines, peer-review descriptions, fee schedules or discipline-specific ethical requirements. Operational claims apply only where implemented by the relevant journal or publisher system.
Data availability
Research articles should include a clear statement explaining where supporting data can be accessed or, where access is restricted, why the data cannot be shared openly and under what conditions responsible access may be possible.
Code and materials
Where custom code, analytic scripts, protocols, instruments or materials are necessary to understand or reproduce a result, authors should describe availability in a manner appropriate to the discipline and applicable restrictions.
Ethical and legal limits
Data should not be made public where doing so would breach consent, privacy, confidentiality, contractual obligations, legal restrictions or participant safety. A transparent restriction is preferable to an inaccurate claim of openness.
Repositories and persistent access
Where possible, stable repositories and persistent identifiers should be preferred over temporary personal links. Repository metadata should be sufficient to connect deposited material with the relevant publication.
Supplementary content
Supplementary files form part of the publication package when formally published with an article. They should be relevant, appropriately described and subject to necessary ethical, copyright and integrity checks.
Image and figure integrity
Images and figures should accurately represent the underlying evidence. Adjustments applied uniformly for clarity may be acceptable where they do not obscure, remove or create material features. Selective manipulation that changes interpretation is unacceptable.
Requests for underlying material
Editors may request underlying data, code, images, approvals or other records where necessary to assess reliability. Inability or refusal to provide material may require further inquiry, particularly where the authors previously claimed that such material existed or was available.
Reproducibility and limits
Reproducibility expectations vary by discipline. BMU supports transparent reporting of methods, analytic choices, exclusions, transformations and limitations so that readers can evaluate how conclusions were reached.
Policy basis and interpretation
Adapted principally from JHWCR Policies 25 and 26. The BMU version generalises journal-specific material into a publisher framework and removes details that should remain title-specific. Where a journal publishes a more specific requirement that is consistent with these principles, the journal-specific rule governs that journal's submissions.
Questions about this framework may be sent to info@bmuventures.com.