Few researchers get open data training despite mandates to share

Only a quarter of researchers have been given any help in sharing their data when publishing despite the vast majority being required to do so, a global survey has found.

According to the State of Open Data Report 2022, which surveyed more than 5,400 respondents across the world, just under 25 per cent of researchers said that they had received any support with planning, managing or sharing their research data.

However, more than 70 per cent of respondents said they were required to follow a policy on data sharing – a proportion that is likely to rise significantly following the announcement of new rules in the US, Australia and Europe mandating open-access publishing, including data-sharing.

The study, which is in its seventh year, also found that 55 per cent of respondents felt they needed more training or information on policies for access, sharing and reuse if they were to share their data.

Of those who had shared data, 66 per cent had received some form of recognition for their efforts – most commonly via full citation in another article (41 per cent) followed by co-authorship on a paper that had used the data, the study finds.

Researchers are also more inclined to share their research data where it can have an impact on citations (67 per cent) and the visibility of their research (61 per cent), rather than being motivated by public benefit or mandates by journals (both 56 per cent).

Mark Hahnel, founder and chief executive of Figshare, which supports the study along with Digital Science and Springer Nature, said the results showed that while “most researchers embrace the concepts of open data and open science, they also have some reasonable misgivings about how open data policies and practices impact on them”.

“In an environment where open data mandates are increasing, funding organisations would benefit from working even more closely with researchers and providing them with additional support to help smooth the transition to a fully open data future,” he added.

The latest State of Open Data Report, published on 13 October, comes shortly after the most high-profile open access mandate to date – the White House’s announcement in August that federally funded research must be immediately free to access by 2026. It follows similar rule changes by the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia, the European Commission and UK Research and Innovation.

Graham Smith, open data programme manager at Springer Nature, said the report “shows us not only the progress made but the steps that still need to be taken on the journey towards an open data future in support of the research community.”

“Whether it’s the broad support of researchers for making research data openly available as common practice or the changing attitudes to open data mandates, we must learn from and deliver concrete steps forward to address what the community is telling us,” he said.

jack.grove@timeshigherducation.com