Cochrane Data Release and the Case for "Open Science"

"Cochrane is registered as a charity and is largely publicly funded; much of its data extraction and systematic review work is done by volunteers. However, Cochrane's current policies allow only specific individuals with full library access to view and reuse data reports in their entirety. Cochrane has declined to allow data sharing for reuse through OpenTrials or the Trip Database library. However, data sharing is essential to transparency in research, the investigators wrote, and is associated with “increased citations…publications, and [data] reuse for new purposes.” In addition, improved access to existing data allows investigators to refine extraction processes and explore “new avenues of inquiry.” ..."