The opening up of the data that underpins scientific research is something I’ve long supported, and whilst a degree of progress has been made in the area, there is still much to be done.
For instance, I wrote earlier this year about a study from Elsevier that discussed an apparent paradox in the research world. It revealed that whilst the majority of researchers openly admit that their work would benefit from more open data, few of them actually share their own data.
The study consisted of a survey of over 1,200 researchers from around the world in fields including genetics and humanities. It came to a number of clear conclusions:
Researchers support open data– at least when it comes to the benefits their own research derives from it. They’re much less familiar with sharing their own data, with inexperience and the academic culture significant reasons given for this.
Tags: data • open data • reproducibility • Research • Social Business