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Abstract
Data sharing platforms offer some potential to easily access IPD [4], but they may not house all relevant variables, and their use can remove the opportunity to communicate with the original study investigators, which often adds valuable insight. There is also an absence of a standardized data preparation approach, which may assist IPD project teams in planning and executing data preparation tasks, and would help others, such as funders and reviewers, understand the processes involved. [...]variables such as sex may be coded as 1=females/0=males in some studies but 1=males/0=females in others; therefore, caution is needed.2 Replication An important step, where possible, is to replicate each included study's main results, following the study's reported statistical methods. Furthermore, the analysis phase can reveal further (unexpected) data checking issues that need to be resolved. [...]time for analyses must be protected.