Research data and the academic reward system

Poster presented at OASPA 2020

Abstract

As more funders and publishers ask for underlying data to be published, research data is gaining importance in the scholarly communication process. However, the scientific reward system has not yet caught up by valuing data as research output on the same or similar level as publications. Even if data sharing and research data management plans are increasingly required, data collection, cleaning and curation are not yet considered valuable contributions to scientific advancement. Researchers therefore lack incentives to share their data openly and rather publish and cite data-related articles to ensure valuation of their work. The scientific reward system lags behind in recognizing open data practices, particularly with regard to tenure and promotion, where journal and book publications are often considered the only output that counts.

Data metrics that capture views, downloads and reuse of datasets have been identified as potential indicators to assess the value of data and raise its status to first-class scholarly output. As part of the Make Data Count initiative, the Meaningful Data Counts research project seeks to explore data sharing, reuse and citation practices across all scientific fields in order to derive a basic understanding of usage patterns and disciplinary differences. Using a mixed-methods approach combining bibliometrics and traditional social science research methods, the project aims to provide evidence for developing meaningful indicators that showcase the value of open data practices and help to incentivize data sharing and reuse. The poster presentation will highlight the need for a sufficient evidence base as a foundation for the development of data metrics. It will provide an overview of the project’s methodology and point out the role that publishers play in making data count.