Why Share Your Data?
Data sharing is the practice of making data used for scholarly research available to others. Many funding agencies, institutions, and publication venues have policies regarding data sharing because transparency and openness are considered by many to be part of the scientific method. Why should librarians advocate for data sharing and open data? (adapted from MIT Libraries Data Management Research Guide).
Preserve your data: Depositing your data in a repository safeguards your investment of time and resources while preserving your research contribution for you and others to use.
Meet grant requirements: Many funding agencies now require that researchers deposit data collected as part of a research project.
Promote new discoveries: Sharing your data with other researchers can lead to new and unanticipated discoveries and provide research material for those with little or no funding.
Support open access: Be a catalyst for research and discovery. Show your support for open access by sharing your data.
- Troubleshooting Public Data Archiving: Suggestions to Increase Participation (2014) – Article from PLOS Biology. Public data archiving has many benefits for society, but some scientists are reluctant to share their data. This Perspective offers some practical solutions to reduce costs and increase benefits for individual researchers.
last edited 9/22/2020