Why Academics Undershare Research Data
What's Happening?
Mattern, J. B., Kohlburn, J., & Moulaison-Sandy, H. (2024). Why academics under-share research data: A social relational theory. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24938
Abstract: Despite their professed enthusiasm for open science, faculty researchers have been documented as not freely sharing their data; instead, if sharing data at all, they take a minimal approach. A robust research agenda in LIS has documented the data under-sharing practices in which they engage, and the motivations they profess. Using theoretical frameworks from sociology to complement research in LIS, this article examines the broader context in which researchers are situated, theorizing the social relational dynamics in academia that influence faculty decisions and practices relating to data sharing. We advance a theory that suggests that the academy has entered a period of transition, and faculty resistance to data sharing through foot-dragging is one response to shifting power dynamics. If the theory is borne out empirically, proponents of open access will need to find a way to encourage open academic research practices without undermining the social value of academic researchers.
From the Conclusion
This study also raises a number of practical considerations. For proponents of open data accessibility, this study cautions that increasingly demanding data-sharing mandates may backfire, catalyzing everyday resistance into collective, organized resistance. Librarians, for example, promote open science and open data through institutional levers; they train in professional competencies including data curation, data management, and faculty engagement. Though such efforts may be well-intentioned, they might not unequivocally be perceived as being in service of the common good by disenfranchised researchers. On the contrary, to academic researchers, libraries and librarians may appear as part of a coercive academic capitalist apparatus rather than as advocates for freedom. One core challenge for proponents of open access is to find a way to encourage open academic research practices without undermining the social value of academic researchers. As power dynamics continue to shift after the belt-tightening following the COVID-19 pandemic, information behavior may show evidence of further resistance as expectations and power continue to shift away from the researcher.