Policies for code sharing of PLOS journals in the open science environment

Abstract:  [Purposes] Taking the publishing institutions and journals of Public Library of Science (PLOS) as examples, we study the code sharing policies of academic journals, aiming to provide references for the journals in China to optimize the open science policy. [Methods] We employed literature analysis and web survey to study the evolution, main contents, and development trends of the code sharing policies of PLOS. [Findings] The code sharing policies of PLOS have been separated from the data policies. The mandatory code availability statement and supporting policies of PLOS have improved the code sharing rate of papers published in the journals, which is conducive to the reproduction of research and the improvement of research efficiency. [Conclusions] In the era with in-depth development of open science, the code sharing policies of academic journals is still in its infancy compared with the data policies. The code sharing policies tend to develop in coordination with the data policies and follow the FAIR principles, which has reference value for the formulation of code sharing policies by academic journals in China along with data policies.