aaag-transparency-and-data

Transparency & Spatial Data (aaag-transparency-and-data)

The Annals (Taylor & Francis, for the AAG) follows publisher and disciplinary norms for **data

availability and research integrity** rather than (as at some journals) a mandatory, editor-run

replication check before publication. The right posture is: **document spatial-data provenance

thoroughly, share what you ethically can, and protect location privacy.** Confirm the current data-

availability / sharing policy on the Taylor & Francis journal page (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准).

When to trigger

• Preparing data documentation, a data-availability statement, or supplementary materials
• Deciding what spatial data can be shared given geoprivacy, IRB, license, or proprietary limits
• Documenting qualitative or restricted location data so claims remain credible
• A reviewer asked how others could verify or reproduce the spatial analysis

Spatial-data provenance (the geography-specific core)

Document enough that another geographer could locate, re-project, and rebuild the dataset:

• Sources & licenses for every layer (census, satellite, OSM, administrative, field-collected),

with access dates and terms.

• Projection / CRS and any re-projection; areal units and how they were defined or aggregated.
• Processing chain — classification, geocoding, spatial joins, resampling, filtering — as a logged,

ordered pipeline, not "cleaned in GIS."

• Temporal alignment — vintages of layers and how they were harmonized.

Geoprivacy & human subjects (overrides sharing)

• Do not publish precise locations of identifiable individuals/households; use geographic masking

(aggregation, jittering, areal reporting) and state the method.

• IRB/consent for interviews, fieldwork, and participatory mapping; protect informant and site identity.
• Sensitive sites (sacred, endangered-species, conflict) may require deliberate spatial coarsening — say so.

Reproducibility (good practice even without a pre-publication gate)

• Master script regenerates every table, figure, and map from raw/constructed data.
• README/codebook: provenance, projections, construction steps, and how to reproduce each exhibit.
• Seeds set for stochastic steps; software/package versions pinned (renv.lock / requirements.txt).
• Restricted data: a data-availability statement explaining what is shared, what is not and why,

and an access path; provide synthetic/masked data so code can run where feasible.

Transparency posture by data type (geography-specific)

Because the Annals spans four areas, the availability expectation lands differently on different

evidence. This grid keeps the posture honest; confirm mechanics against the current T&F policy.

| Data type | Typically shareable | Restricted | Provenance to document |

|-----------|---------------------|------------|------------------------|

| Public geospatial (census, OSM) | data + code | none | source, vintage, CRS, join keys |

| Satellite / DEM | processing code + IDs | bulk imagery (host link instead) | sensor, dates, correction, resolution |

| Field GPS of people/sites | masked/aggregated data | exact coordinates | masking method, IRB, consent |

| Interviews / ethnography | coding scheme | identifiable transcripts/locations | anonymization, composite-disclosure note |

| Proprietary/licensed layers | code + access path | the layer itself | license terms, how to obtain |

Checklist

• [ ] Every layer's source, license, access date, and CRS documented
• [ ] Processing pipeline logged (classification/geocoding/joins/resampling)
• [ ] Geoprivacy handled — masking method stated for identifiable locations
• [ ] IRB/consent documented for human-subjects and field/participatory work
• [ ] Master script + README + seeds + pinned versions (where quantitative)
• [ ] Data-availability statement drafted; access path / synthetic data for restricted layers
• [ ] Current T&F data policy confirmed (do not assert a gate it does not impose)

Anti-patterns

• "Data cleaned in GIS" with no provenance, CRS, or processing log
• Publishing exact coordinates of vulnerable people or sensitive sites
• Claiming open data that license or geoprivacy will not permit
• Asserting an editor-verified replication mandate the policy does not state
• Un-seeded, unpinned code that "works on my machine"

Output format

【Provenance】sources + licenses + CRS + processing log documented? [Y/N]
【Geoprivacy】masking/aggregation for identifiable locations? [Y/N/NA]
【Human subjects】IRB/consent handled? [Y/N/NA]
【Reproducibility】master script + README + seeds + versions? [Y/N]
【Data-availability statement】shared / restricted (why) / access path / synthetic?
【Policy check】current T&F data policy confirmed? [Y/N/待核实]
【Next】aaag-review-process

Supplementary resources

• [../../resources/external_tools.md](../../resources/external_tools.md) — reproducibility tooling, repositories, and geomasking options
• [../../resources/official-source-map.md](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — T&F data-availability and AAG ethics references