Encouraging scholars to embrace data sharing - Research Information

" ... When researchers make the data behind their work open, it enables others to use their datasets to enhance their own data, find new information in it or even use it for comparisons against their own work. This saves time, opens a world of opportunities and reduces inefficiencies when basic experiments are repeated unnecessarily. Allowing access in this way can also enable comparisons that have never been possible before. For example, it enhances the opportunities for cross-disciplinary research and brings together many formerly independent sources to enable more comprehensive study of a research topic. The flip side to this for the researcher is that their findings can be challenged. This could have benefits but, as researchers themselves have no control over how or by whom the data is used, it could also lead to data being misrepresented or misinterpreted by others. There is increasing international interest in data sharing and its potential benefits. The Research Data Alliance (RDA), set up by organisations in Australia, the USA and Europe, for example, is keen to make data created by publicly funded research openly available and easily discoverable. However, there are challenges in making data sharing by researchers a normal part of the process. The technical aspects of this are difficult but actually quite achievable. It is the necessary step change in researcher behaviour that is the real hurdle. One of the thornier issues is how researchers could gain recognition for data sharing in the same way that they do for publishing results in journals. At Jisc, we’ve been working as part of Knowledge Exchange (a co-operative effort of bodies in five European countries to support the use and development of ICT for higher education and research) to address this and other concerns. A new report from this initiative, ‘The Value of Research Data: Metrics for datasets from a cultural and technical viewpoint’, provides an international perspective on the current state of data sharing and explores how data publication can be encouraged, recognised and simplified. The report puts forward several recommendations to support data sharing. It recommends creating a reward system that will allow researchers to demonstrate the value of their work in an open/shared setting. Alongside this, it notes the need for data-citation standards so that usage of data can be tracked and recorded.  To help researchers share data and to encourage buy in from universities, the report advises promoting the positive impacts of data sharing. These include increased recognition, reduction in admin costs, improved reputation and increased profile, and ultimately the ability to attract the best new researchers. The report also suggests providing a process and support for universities to undertake long-term data storage, and greatly simplifying the process of data publishing for the researcher ..."