Research Data: Who Will Share What, with Whom, When, and Why?

23 Pages Posted: 26 Nov 2010 Last revised: 5 Jul 2011

See all articles by Christine L. Borgman

Christine L. Borgman

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Date Written: October 1, 2010

Abstract

The deluge of scientific research data has excited the general public, as well as the scientific community, with the possibilities for better understanding of scientific problems, from climate to culture. For data to be available, researchers must be willing and able to share them. The policies of governments, funding agencies, journals, and university tenure and promotion committees also influence how, when, and whether research data are shared. Data are complex objects. Their purposes and the methods by which they are produced vary widely across scientific fields, as do the criteria for sharing them. To address these challenges, it is necessary to examine the arguments for sharing data and how those arguments match the motivations and interests of the scientific community and the public. Four arguments are examined: to make the results of publicly funded data available to the public, to enable others to ask new questions of extant data, to advance the state of science, and to reproduce research. Libraries need to consider their role in the face of each of these arguments, and what expertise and systems they require for data curation.

Suggested Citation

Borgman, Christine L., Research Data: Who Will Share What, with Whom, When, and Why? (October 1, 2010). RatSWD Working Paper No. 161, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1714427 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1714427

Christine L. Borgman (Contact Author)

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) ( email )

405 Hilgard Avenue
Box 951361
Los Angeles, CA 90095
United States

HOME PAGE: http://is.gseis.ucla.edu/cborgman/

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