More universities now have data sharing policies as part of their efforts to promote open science and research transparency
There has been a strong growth in papers linking to data from universities globally since 2010. Although there are differences regionally, with a spread of just 5-10% in data sharing policies, this is less significant than the >85% of articles that were not linked to data by 2022.
The success of open data initiatives reflects a broader policy environment. However, having policies in place is not sufficient on its own
Policies for open data sharing are now more consistent globally, which has contributed to a general decline in “on request” sharing with reductions ranging from 1-9% in all but one country - i.e. researchers are now sharing more ‘naturally’. However, there are fluctuations in practice based on the type of research being funded and geolocation, and even where policies are in place, there is not necessarily a significant rise in repository sharing.
Global uptake of open research practice has increased, but is impacted by country-level motivations for data sharing
The United States has the lowest percentage of researchers that are motivated through citation of their data (4.88%) while having the highest percentage being motivated by funder requirement (10.23%). Conversely, Ethiopia and Japan show similarity with a higher importance of motivation through citation of their data (9.3% and 14.8% respectively) and a similar low importance of motivation from funder requirement (at 2.33% and 1.67% respectively).
Resource disparities remain
Progress in some countries is hindered by limitations in internet connectivity, institutional support, and a lack of awareness. Across the 10 regions analysed*, the US, UK, Germany, and France demonstrated similar trends in repository sharing, averaging around a 25% sharing rate. However, for Brazil, Ethiopia and India the sharing rate remains significantly below a quarter.
Sustained efforts are needed to respond to the challenges in diverse research areas
A wide range of disciplines are now being covered by the growing number of data availability statement (DAS) policies, but many still lack established community practices, suitable repositories, and/or the ability to handle sensitive data which is difficult to share.
Figshare founder and Digital Science VP Open Research Mark Hahnel has written a blog post around the report that asks 'Are we ready to start rewarding researchers for open data?'
