Post by Tiffany Grant PhD, Research Informationist based at Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library
Data Shhharing
“Data” and “sharing” are two words that we don’t like to juxtapose in the scientific community. I mean, who wants to share their hard earned data? It’s the equivalent of sharing ones salary with the world- a group of strangers. The data generated via the scientific process is extremely personal, and is intrinsic to the life and legacy of the researchers who create it. Researchers don’t have a problem with publishing their work once completed, as it adds to their scientific credibility. But, therein lies the problem. Publication does not always equal access.
It is the publisher, not the researcher who owns the rights to the articles published in their journals. Access to these journals typically only comes through a paid subscription. So, while researchers can often get access to journals through their institution, access is not granted to all without paying for individual articles at a time, a process which can prove quite costly. Thus paying for access to online content makes sense only to publishers who profit from it. But, as a researcher, do you really want your hard work under this veil? Is that really what you worked for?
