Here at the CMF we play well with others when it comes to data. Our operating principle is that we always share data from our projects as soon as the results have been published. (Ok, so there is still only one dataset up on the website just now but there is much more to come in the near future once we have the data all cleaned.) Unfortunately, not all researchers share this principle.
The New York Times has a great article on the disturbingly common practice of data hoarding by researchers. The author is not referring to the practice of limiting public access to data from experiments while the researchers are busy analyzing the data themselves (an entirely legitimate practice – after all, no one would go to the trouble of collecting data if, after collection, anyone could reap the academic rewards of their effort), but to the practice of refusing outside researchers access to data even after results have been published.
The author describes the state of affairs in medical research but the same is true in the area of economics and social science research as well. Ironically, the very institutions which should be taking the lead in ensuring that data is shared publicly (for instance, by enforcing a deadline of say 2 years for sharing data for all studies they fund) are the very ones most jealously guarding their data. Every tried to get access to the data used for a World Bank study? Here is the response I got when I tried: “I regret that this dataset is not in the public domain and therefore we are unable to share it with you.”
Wtf? Not only was the study for which I was requesting data publicly funded (obviously) but I’m willing to bet that the respondents who generously shared their time with the researchers (and believe me, these surveys can take a lot of time) were under the impression that the collected data would be used for the public good.
2 comments:
Good point! Have you people tried visiting the library of some of the leading institutions in TN? sample Anna University Library or Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Coimbatore. They don't even allow you inside to refer books (data is a totally different issue, probably they will chase you with sticks)
A very important point raised here Doug. I think we need and ought to do something here.
This is one of issues that we at MicroSave also feel very strongly about and is discussed quite often within the team. You can see that everything done and developed at MicroSave can be downloaded by anyone from MicroSave's website. But I still feel that if its the public money, we or anyone have a Right to access that data and it is a clear and gross ethical breach by those who don't share it.
Thus we must insist and make them realize that it is an ethical breach of serious nature - time and again until they change their policies and start sharing stuff..
To start with can we send an email to the World Bank people there sharing this concern of ours marking a copy of this to some important and influential people ..we can discuss this further if you want -- doug ..
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