Open Data: the researcher perspective - survey and case studies

A research project focusing on open data practices was carried out as a collaboration between Leiden University’s Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) and Elsevier. In this project, a complementary methods approach was used which combined exploratory bibliographic analysis, an international survey of researchers, and three case studies. Here we share the relevant files for the case studies and international survey. The results are described in the project report 'Open Data: The researcher perspective'. Case studies Studies of open data often focus on the status and potential of making data publicly available for reuse by academic actors situated outside of the local context in which they were produced or by public actors not directly associated with academic research (Borgman 2012). This formulation of open data imagines the widest practical range of potential (re)users and invokes significant effort to prepare data for use by unknown others. Often overlooked in this approach is the assessment of data practices that occur in fields with a tradition of data sharing that would not be considered ‘open data’ in the political sense. In this study, we shift the focus from concerns of public access to an account of data sharing practices associated with the process of conducting research. We adapt Leonelli’s (2013) framework for open data in the development of six epistemic dimensions associated with data sharing: (a) data situated, (b) pragmatics of sharing/reuse, (c) incentives for sharing/reuse, (d) governance/accountability, (e) commodification and (f) globalization. A summary of these case studies was included in the main project report 'Open Data: The researcher perspective'. Survey These files contain the questionnaire and raw data for the Open Data survey, which examines the attitudes and behavior of researchers with regard to sharing their research data and using open data in their own research. The survey was conducted with a random sample of researchers that had published a journal article or book (chapter) that was indexed in Scopus in 2012-2015. 1200 researchers completed the survey and fieldwork took place in June-July 2016.莱顿大学科学与技术研究中心（Centre for Science and Technology Studies, CWTS）与爱思唯尔（Elsevier）合作开展了一项聚焦开放数据实践的研究项目。本项目采用互补性研究方法框架，整合探索性文献计量分析、针对研究者的国际调研与三项案例研究。本次共享的为与案例研究及国际调研相关的配套文件，相关研究成果已在项目报告《开放数据：研究者视角》中详细阐述。 案例研究 现有开放数据研究多聚焦于将数据公开发布，供其产出场景以外的学术主体或非直接关联学术研究的公共主体重复使用（Borgman, 2012）。此类开放数据定义设想了覆盖范围最广的潜在（重复）使用者群体，同时要求研究者投入大量精力对数据进行预处理，以适配未知使用者的使用需求。但该研究范式往往忽略了那些拥有数据共享传统、但在政治语境下并不属于“开放数据”范畴的领域的数据实践评估。本研究将关注点从公共获取的诉求，转向对科研开展全流程中数据共享实践的系统性探讨。我们借鉴莱奥内利（Leonelli, 2013）的开放数据分析框架，构建了与数据共享相关的六大认知维度：(a) 数据情境化，(b) 共享/复用的实践逻辑，(c) 共享/复用的激励机制，(d) 治理与问责，(e) 商品化，以及(f) 全球化。本次案例研究的总结内容已纳入主项目报告《开放数据：研究者视角》。 调研 本次共享的文件包含开放数据调研的问卷与原始数据，该调研旨在探究研究者在共享研究数据以及在自身研究中使用开放数据的态度与行为。调研对象为2012-2015年间在Scopus数据库（Scopus）收录期刊论文或图书（章节）作者的随机抽样群体，最终共有1200名研究者完成问卷，实地调研工作于2016年6-7月开展。