Key Issues for Digital Research: A Social Science Perspective on Policy and Practice

Abstract

The Oxford e-Social Science (OeSS) project investigated the uses and impacts of digital research – what others have called e-Research or e-Science – from the perspective of the social sciences. The study examined the factors shaping new approaches to digital research across the sciences and humanities as well as its implications for the nature and quality of research, in addition to the ethical, legal, and institutional issues it raises in particular research areas. Appendix A provides an overview of the OeSS project. As the OeSS project came to an end after six years of research across two phases, project members hosted two days of events focused on the challenges presented by digital research, and the issues raised for policy and practice.

Key issue areas emerged in discussion of the social shaping and implications of digital research. They include the growing wealth of digital data, the potential for digital collaboration, new forms of scholarly communication, the ethical challenges of digital research, the reshaping of institutional boundaries, and the need for digital curricula. While there are many other issues, these surfaced as key in discussion about digital researchers and colleagues from business, industry and the policy communities with an interest in the vitality of this burgeoning area of research. This report discusses these issues in turn before concluding with thoughts on moving ahead. Appendix A provides an overview of the Oxford e-Social Science Project, which provided a foundation for the forum discussion, and Appendix B a list of participants in the policy forum that informs this report.

Keywords: digital, research, Internet, social science, e-Research, big data, ethics