In the realm of data publication, Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk adheres to best practices in data publishing ethics, aligning with the recommendations and workflows published by the FORCE11 & COPE Research Data Publishing Ethics Working Group.

The Journal is committed to addressing and investigating any ethical concerns related to the data associated with a submitted manuscript or a published article. In cases where concerns are raised, the Journal follows due process in accordance with COPE guidelines and the recommendations of the FORCE11 & COPE Working Group to determine whether any actions are necessary.

Should ethical concerns arise regarding the data linked to a published article, the correction and retraction policies of the Journal will be implemented.

Where possible, authors are encouraged to include links at the end of their article to the datasets and the citation of data sets. Although deposition of data is not compulsory, we encourage the publication of the data set on which the article is based.  Publication of data sets promoted the findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability of data and research.

The selected repository should be actively managed, allow for unrestricted access and appropriately describe the data and include metadata. The Editorial team should be informed if the data are removed from the repository after publication.

The Journal retains the authority to remove links to a published dataset and/or associated content to address legal or ethical concerns, publication ethics issues, or breaches in journal policy. Links to datasets may also be removed during ongoing investigations of such concerns. In the context of data publishing concerns, the Journal may engage with other entities hosting content associated with the dataset, such as a data repository, and may contact the institution(s) of relevant authors if deemed necessary.

Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk complies with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013 and may have a legal obligation to inform the Information Regulator in case of identifying a legal breach related to the data in a submission or publication in the Journal.