Replication Package & Data/Code Policy (restat-replication-package)

When to trigger

• The paper is approaching acceptance and a data/code deposit will be required
• You use proprietary or restricted data and must plan for the policy before paying the fee
• A README, master script, or directory structure needs to be assembled
• You are unsure what REStat's Data and Code Availability Policy actually requires

The REStat data/code bar (refreshed 2026-06-20; live-check the official policy page)

REStat operates a Data and Code Availability Policy for empirical papers. The signature features that distinguish REStat from its siblings:

• Deposit to the REStat Harvard Dataverse (dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/restat) — REStat uses a proper Dataverse archive, NOT openICPSR (which the AEA journals use) and NOT the JAE Data Archive. Getting the repository right is a load-bearing REStat detail.
• Post data and code, with documented README files, before publication. The goal is to provide enough information to permit replication of the results in the paper.
• Proprietary / restricted data: indicate this at submission. When data cannot be posted, you must document the data and provide instructions for how other researchers can obtain it. Practical note: if your paper uses proprietary data, the journal asks you not to pay the submission fee until the editorial office confirms your data comply with the policy.
• Policy generally applies to papers from volume 92 onward per the REStat Harvard Dataverse API description.

Package architecture (build it as you go)

restat-replication/
  README.(md|pdf)        # the heart of the deposit — see contents below
  data/
    raw/                 # source data (or access instructions if restricted)
    processed/           # built analysis files, regenerated by code
  code/
    00_run_all.do/.R/.py # one master script regenerating EVERY exhibit
    01_build.*           # raw → processed
    02_analysis.*        # processed → estimates
    03_exhibits.*        # estimates → tables/figures
  output/
    tables/  figures/    # exactly what appears in the paper + appendix

README contents (what permits replication)

• Data availability statement: each dataset, its source, terms, and (if restricted) exact access instructions; flag proprietary data clearly.
• Computational requirements: software + versions (Stata 18 MP / R 4.x / Python 3.x), packages with versions, OS, approximate run time and hardware.
• Instructions: how to run 00_run_all from raw data to every table/figure; what each script produces.
• Mapping: a table linking each exhibit number in the paper/appendix to the script and line that generates it.
• Seeds: set and report seeds for any simulation / bootstrap / randomization inference.

Checklist

• Target archive confirmed: REStat Harvard Dataverse (not openICPSR, not JAE)
• One master script regenerates every table and figure from raw (or processed) data
• README has data-availability statement, computational requirements, run instructions, exhibit↔script map
• Software/package versions pinned; seeds set and reported
• Proprietary/restricted data flagged at submission; access instructions documented
• (Proprietary data) submission fee not paid until editorial office confirms policy compliance
• Every number in the paper traces to deposited code (consistency with restat-tables-figures)

Anti-patterns

• Depositing to openICPSR or the JAE archive — REStat uses its own Harvard Dataverse
• Treating the package as a post-acceptance chore — assemble it alongside the analysis
• A README that lists files but gives no run instructions or exhibit↔script mapping
• Unpinned package versions / unset seeds — results that will not reproduce
• Discovering only at acceptance that proprietary data cannot be posted (declare at submission)
• Paying the submission fee on a proprietary-data paper before compliance is confirmed

Output format

【Archive】REStat Harvard Dataverse confirmed? [Y/N]
【Master script】00_run_all regenerates all exhibits from data? [Y/N]
【README】availability stmt + compute reqs + instructions + exhibit↔script map? [Y/N]
【Versions/seeds】software+packages pinned; seeds set/reported? [Y/N]
【Proprietary data】flagged at submission; access instructions; fee held? [Y/N / n/a]
【Traceability】every paper number ← deposited code? [Y/N]
【Next step】restat-referee-strategy