Introduction to Data Sharing
Activity: Benefits and Fears
If you haven’t already, play Level 2 in the League of Data game: https://lod.sshopencloud.eu/LodGame/ It points out some benefits and fears related to sharing data.Source: SSHOC. (2020). Data Publication Challenge [video game]. Social Sciences and Humanities Open Cloud (SSHOC) League of Data (LOD). https://lod.sshopencloud.eu/
---------------------------------------
Sharing data advances rigorous and reproducible research. Authenticity of research articles is increased through access to, and reanalysis or replication of, research data. Regardless of any mandates, researchers may be motivated to produce scholarship as open science, with interests towards contributing to future research by others, and giving back to the public and the communities of their participants.
Sharing data has benefits towards the individual researcher. Research is showing that sharing data is actually increasing discoverability and citations to their associated journal articles. Data itself is beginning to be seen as its own research output that can be cited and tracked.
Sharing data is becoming a top-down institutional expectation. Funders are increasingly creating mandates around data sharing; after all, research funded by federal grants, which are funded by public taxes, should be returned to the public realm for reusability, accountability, and public trust in research. As more research is facing the need for getting funding, being able to show a demonstrable history of research data sharing can help make applicants more competitively attractive.
Data that is shared can be used for public or organizational good, besides advancing research. It can be used for evidence-based policy decisions, or for determining resource allocations, such as identifying what infrastructure is needed and prioritizing funding budgets that fill those needs. What doesn’t get counted becomes invisible. If your research involved health data about a minority population, for example, not sharing it could reinforce health inequities.
These are all reasons that explain why data should be shared. However, there are also very valid reasons not to share data. What is relevant for this OER is how that relates to data ethics.
Sources
- Meyer, M.N. (2018). Practical tips for ethical data sharing. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 1(1), 131-144. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245917747656
- Taylor & Francis. (n.d.) Sharing and citing data. Taylor & Francis Author Services. https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/data-sharing/