Data Sharing in Neurosurgery and Neurology Journals

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Neurosurgery
• Clinical Research
• Data Science

Background:

• Rising healthcare costs and limited research funding necessitate efficient data utilization.
• Advocacy for data sharing is increasing in translational and clinical research.
• Open access to de-identified clinical data can improve scientific transparency and rigor.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current status of publicly available research data in top neurology and neurosurgery journals.
• To evaluate data sharing policies and data availability in recent publications.

Main Methods:

• Reviewed the top 40 neurology and neurosurgery journals by impact factor for data sharing policies.
• Examined the 10 most recent original research papers (Dec 2015 - Feb 2016) from journals with data sharing policies.
• Assessed articles for data sharing statements and the inclusion of source data.

Main Results:

• 48% of journals had a data sharing policy.
• 58% of policies stated data availability upon request; 21% encouraged data sharing statements.
• Only 21% of reviewed articles included source data within the publication.

Conclusions:

• Neurology and neurosurgery journals and investigators have opportunities to enhance data accessibility.
• Prospective data publication can improve clinical outcome analysis and patient care.
• Increased data sharing is crucial for scientific advancement and resource optimization.