Readings
These are starter readings for Topic 6. Please also read the associated blog posts and listen to the podcasts.
Data sharing by scientists - practices and perception
Mandated data sharing greatly improves access to research data
Podcasts and links
Hertz Podcast 18: Data Sharing
Withholding data: bad science or scientific misconduct?
The usual language warning for Hertz Podcast.
Essay Topic - Open Data and Data Sharing
In some fields, such as astronomy and climate science, data sharing and open data have been routine for many years. However, it is still not the norm in psychology, and recent surveys show a reluctance to share data on request even when authors have signed a statement that they will provide data. It has been suggested that making data and code for analysis openly available will improve replicability in Psychology, as well as having many other benefits such as increasing the power of meta-analysis and protecting against data falsification. In the light of these benefits, why are psychology researchers still reluctant to share their data? In this essay, you will explore this topic with reference to the starter readings in Topic 6.
Some questions to consider:
- What are the benefits of data sharing? What are the drawbacks, particularly with regard to Psychology?
- Is withholding the data for a study merely bad practice, or should it be considered scientific misconduct?
- What are some ways that data sharing could be incentivised?
- What are the important considerations to take into account when planning to share data?
Forum
After reading the papers for this topic and listening to the podcast, what do you think about data sharing? Are there situations in which you think you couldn’t or shouldn’t share data publicly, and what are they? Are there any downsides to data sharing?
Would you share the data you collect for your project this year/next year, and if so how would you do that? Do you think it would have advantages for you and/or others?
Please post your original thoughts below!