jole-replication-and-data-policy

Replication & Data Policy (jole-replication-and-data-policy)

When to trigger

• Your JOLE paper is accepted (or about to be) and you must deposit data and code
• Your data are proprietary or restricted and you need to handle the policy correctly
• You want to build the replication package as you go, not scramble at acceptance
• A referee or editor asks how the results can be reproduced

JOLE's actual data policy

JOLE publishes papers containing empirical, simulation, or experimental results only if the data are clearly documented and readily available for replication. The mechanics:

• Deposit target: after acceptance, authors upload data, programs, and sufficient documentation to permit replication (in electronic form) to JOLE's Dataverse Repository — prior to publication. The deposit is part of the path to print, not an optional extra.
• Minimum for econometric / simulation papers: the dataset(s) and the programs used to run the final models, plus a description of how intermediate datasets and programs were used to build the final dataset from the raw inputs. In other words, document the full chain from raw data to estimation, not just the last regression.
• Policy lineage: JOLE adopted the AER (American Economic Review) data-availability policy in February 2009, applying to articles submitted after that date. If you know the AER/AEA model, JOLE's expectations will be familiar.
• Proprietary or restricted data: authors must notify the editor at submission if the data are proprietary or the requirements otherwise cannot be met. Do not wait until acceptance to disclose this — flag it in the cover letter (see jole-submission, jole-review-process). Even with restricted data, you are generally expected to provide the programs and enough documentation for a qualified replicator to reproduce results given access.
• Ethics: operate under UChicago Press / COPE guidelines, with explicit attention to confidential data and research on vulnerable / human subjects.

Building the package (do this as you go)

1. One master script (run_all) that regenerates every table and figure from the analysis data.
2. Document the chain from raw inputs → cleaning → intermediate files → final estimation dataset, matching the policy's "intermediate datasets/programs" requirement.
3. README describing data sources, access conditions, software/package versions, run order, and expected outputs.
4. Pin the environment (Stata ssc/net versions, renv.lock, requirements.txt) and set/report seeds for bootstrap, randomization inference, and simulation.
5. Restricted data: include the code and a clear description of how to obtain access (e.g., FSRDC, register agreements); provide synthetic or public extracts where licensing permits.
6. Stage early: assemble this alongside the analysis so the post-acceptance Dataverse upload is a packaging step, not a reconstruction.

Checklist

• Data + programs + documentation prepared for the JOLE Dataverse Repository
• Master script regenerates all tables and figures
• Raw → intermediate → final data chain documented (per AER-style policy)
• README with sources, access terms, software versions, run order
• Seeds set and reported; environment pinned
• Proprietary/restricted data flagged to the editor at submission, with code + access path provided
• Human-subjects / confidential-data handling consistent with COPE / UChicago Press ethics

Anti-patterns

• Treating the deposit as optional — JOLE publishes empirical work only if it is replicable
• Depositing only the final regression code without the data-build chain
• Discovering at acceptance that proprietary data were never flagged to the editor
• A package that cannot reproduce a table because the seed or version was not recorded
• Assuming "restricted data" exempts you from providing programs and documentation
• Reconstructing the package from memory at the last minute instead of building it as you go

Output format

【Deposit target】JOLE Dataverse Repository (data + programs + docs) [ready Y/N]
【Master script】regenerates all exhibits? [Y/N]
【Data chain】raw → intermediate → final documented? [Y/N]
【Environment】versions pinned + seeds reported? [Y/N]
【Proprietary data】flagged to editor at submission + access path provided? [Y/N/NA]
【Ethics】COPE / human-subjects handling noted? [Y/N/NA]
【Next step】jole-submission (or back to jole-review-process)

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — labor data sources and version-pinning / reproducibility tooling
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — the JOLE data-policy URL and its verification status