# Introduction

Journals require that you **share your code and data** in a replication package at the end of your research project. That can be a challenge, when some parts of your research data are confidential. This document provides an overview of ensuring the reproducibility of your research when **data are confidential**. It is not meant to be exhaustive, and it is not meant to be prescriptive. There are many ways to construct a replication package, and even more situations in which confidential data are housed.

Following some best practices from day 1 can not only **help you prepare** this package later, but also make you **more productive** researchers. Following some best practices before releasing a package can **avoid costly revisions**. 

## Before we start

Many of the methods and techniques described here are not specific to confidential data. Before we go into the details, we suggest that you read the following chapters and presentations. We will refer to them at particular points in this document.

- [Reproducibility from Day 1](https://larsvilhuber.github.io/day1-tutorial/)
- [Verifying Reproducibility Yourself](https://larsvilhuber.github.io/self-checking-reproducibility/)
- [The Ideal README](https://larsvilhuber.github.io/readme-presentation/)

## Alternate formats

This subject is also available as

- [an online presentation](https://labordynamicsinstitute.github.io/reproducibility-confidential/presentation/) and its [printable PDF](https://labordynamicsinstitute.github.io/reproducibility-confidential/presentation-en.pdf) (also in [Spanish](https://labordynamicsinstitute.github.io/reproducibility-confidential/presentation-es.pdf) 🛠️)
- [a printable PDF](https://labordynamicsinstitute.github.io/reproducibility-confidential/book.pdf) 🛠️

(🛠️ indicates work-in-progress, WIP)

## TL;DR

Techy lingo for "too long, didn't read". A summary of the most important takeaways will be at the top of each section.

## How to contribute

Open a pull request at the [repository](https://github.com/labordynamicsinstitute/reproducibility-confidential), which can be done from every page using the buttons at the top right.

![Contribute](./images/contribute-logos.png)