The rise of open research data | Exchanges

" ... Along with this global increase in public access to papers, there has been a gear shift in demand for the availability of additional outputs of research, including code, videos, software, and raw data. One of the most recent steps in increasing access to these outputs has been the RECODE project for researchers in the EU, which seeks to develop an open data ecosystem through shifting research practices. With progress being made in the USA too, the wheels are truly in motion towards a global shift towards open access to all research outputs ... The recent partnership between Wiley and Figshare is a more than welcome development. As Wiley is one of the dominant publishers of global research, liberating the data behind those publications will be a great advantage for the development of ‘open science’. Wiley joins other publishers, such as PLOS, in recognizing the value of open research data. There are several levels to achieving open access to research data, and embracing the full power of the Web, and this partnership provides important steps to achieving this. There is still a dependence on researchers to making their data available in appropriate formats, and in a transparent context ... With this new partnership, and the increasing global interest in open data, comes additional questions regarding appropriate data sharing and citation practices, as well as the recognition of outputs beyond papers when it comes down to academic assessment criteria. As many funders now require data to be more openly available, it comes down to the combination of these funders to make sure that credit for making data open is given, and for researchers to recognize that research outputs go beyond the generation of a pdf manuscript.

One of the biggest hurdles to cross is making data re-usable – simply having data available is not much use. What is needed is transparency in data creation and development, and the creation of community-based data sharing standards that allow other researchers to be able to re-use and innovate using open data. Part of this relies on making sure shared data is machine readable, and with transparent methods regarding its use. Journals should make sure that methods sections are suitably detailed, and form the core of manuscripts, instead of being neglected to a short note towards the end of papers.  The next step for publishers and funders is to enforce the sharing of the data behind publications. There is a clear role for academic editors here, in making sure that data is available via a public archive such as Figshare, upon publication of a manuscript, as well as in encouraging data citation ..."