New Preprint: The Conundrum of Sharing Research Data
Title
The Conundrum of Sharing Research Data (Preprint)
Author
Christine Borgman
University of California, Los Angeles
Source
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
63(6): 1059-1078, 2012
via SSRN
Abstract
New methods and instrumentation are producing an unprecedented deluge of research data. The volume of data, combined with new means of distribution and mining, has excited funding agencies, policy makers, and the general public with promises of discovery and innovation. Many stakeholders now expect data to be released, yet sharing is common in only a few fields such as astronomy and genomics. In other fields, some researchers share their data routinely, others never share their data, and most appear willing to share some of their data some of the time. Data sharing is thus a conundrum – “an intricate and difficult problem.” Research data take many forms, are collected for many purposes, using many approaches, and often are difficult to interpret once removed from their initial context. An analysis of data types and practices is illustrated with examples from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Four rationales for sharing data are examined: (1) to reproduce or to verify research, (2) to make results of publicly funded research available to the public, (3) to enable others to ask new questions of extant data, and (4) to advance the state of research and innovation. These rationales differ by the arguments for sharing, by beneficiaries, and by the motivations and incentives of the many stakeholders involved. The challenges are to understand which data might be shared, by whom, with whom, under what conditions, why, and to what effects. Answers to these questions will inform data policy and practice.
Direct to Download Link (41 pages; PDF)
Filed under: Data Files, Funding, Resources

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.