New Research on the Sharing of Data and Code

Summary

Why don't we share data and code? Perceived barriers and benefits to public archiving practices Gomes, Dylan G. E.; Pottier, Patrice; Crystal-Ornelas, Robert; Hudgins, Emma J.; Foroughirad, Vivienne; Sánchez-Reyes, Luna L.; Turba, Rachel; Martinez, Paula Andrea; Moreau, David; Bertram, Michael G.; Smout, Cooper A.; and Gaynor, Kaitlyn M. 
Proc. R. Soc. B. 2022 The Royal Society Publishing  https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1113

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Work conducted in 2022 reveals and reframes objections to sharing in the context of the biological sciences.

From the author abstract, "Here, we define, categorize and discuss barriers to data and code sharing that are relevant to many research fields. We explore how real and perceived barriers might be overcome or reframed in the light of the benefits relative to costs. By elucidating these barriers and the contexts in which they arise, we can take steps to mitigate them and align our actions with the goals of open science, both as individual scientists and as a scientific community."

Specific barriers noted by the authors included knowledge barriers, re-use concerns, and disincentives actually faced by researchers. 

From the paper's conclusion: 

In many cases, on an individual level, perceived barriers may be relatively easily overcome (e.g. lack of knowledge) or may not actually present insurmountable obstacles (e.g. large file sizes). In other cases, the associated downstream benefits to research efficiency, productivity and collaboration may ultimately outweigh costs (e.g. time investment, fear of scooping). It is our hope that by outlining the above barriers to data and code sharing, we have enabled researchers to reflect on their own experiences and practices in order to recognize and mitigate the most salient barriers that they face.

The paper may be read in full on the journal's website here.