Data sharing with other researchers via a public depository became common in journal article publication. Journal editors and reviewers commonly pressure an author to share the data used for an article, although it is not necessarily mandatory. Data sharing can ensure transparency.
An author, however, makes tremendous efforts, and sometimes, it costs money to collect the data.
Do you think being pressured to share data with other researchers via a public depository for article publication is fair?
I am of the opinion that it is not fair. Firstly, data collected could sometimes be a classified data, not public. You have collected it under certain conditions, and the conditions are to be respected.
Secondly, sometimes a researcher spends huge amount in the process of data collection. Competing him to release it mandatorily could promote transparency, however, it will also undoubtedly not protect his interest.
Thirdly, it will also discourage the effort of data collection as many researchers will decide to stay and wait for free data through the repository. This can also make some researchers to become too lazy.
Fourthly, making it necessarily could make some researchers to deposit bias or manipulated data that can lead to an invalid conclusion, among others.
Dear Isa,
Your answer makes a good sense to me.
I like the method that an author can share if anyone makes a special data request as opposed to putting the data in public depository.
It is not fair. Data is collected with Terms and Conditions of confidentiality from the respondents, sharing it violates the terms.
I personally am for data sharing, but I also use almost exclusively secondary data. Since shortly after my first publications, I have included a link in every publication to a website where I upload all of my data, code, and log files. I think transparency is important in research. Having replicated studies before, I find that minor decisions made can change the ultimate conclusions or some research is just not replicable (for whatever reason).
If you want to work in a true “scientific” pursuit of knowledge then it should not matter if others have access to the data. It is all in pursuit of knowledge and understanding of whatever phenomenon we study. If someone else gets to a paper before me, even using data I collected, then so be it. If they answer the question I wanted to know the answer to, great thank you.
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