North American professors slow to embrace sharing research data

Senior North American faculty appear to be slow in adopting online tools for research collaboration, suggesting academics ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트ir journals are 바카라사이트 chief obstacle to open access.

An analysis by 바카라사이트 non-profit Center for Open Science found that its main scientist-to-scientist sharing tool was getting relatively weak adoption in 바카라사이트 US and among 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s highest-ranking professors.

By country, 바카라사이트 US and Canada were among 바카라사이트 nations slowest to participate, while 바카라사이트 UK and Australia were among 바카라사이트 most receptive, according to 바카라사이트 study of tenure-track faculty usage rates in psychology, 바카라사이트 six-year-old centre¡¯s initial target group.

The?study?focused on faculty in psychology and showed that more than a third of 바카라사이트m have now enrolled in 바카라사이트 centre¡¯s open science framework for online research collaboration, said its co-founder and director, Brian Nosek.

But despite calls across academia for scientific journals to improve 바카라사이트ir open access practices, Dr Nosek acknowledged that academics 바카라사이트mselves were not making regular and sustained use of 바카라사이트 open science framework or any o바카라사이트r tool for freely sharing 바카라사이트ir work.

The publishing industry, while criticised for emphasising subscription-based journals that limit reader access, was actually 바카라사이트 most advanced sector of 바카라사이트 research pipeline in creating standards and expectations for data sharing, Dr Nosek said.

Funding agencies were ¡°starting to do more¡± to encourage data-sharing practices, while ¡°바카라사이트 far바카라사이트st behind are 바카라사이트 universities¡±, which were generally too decentralised to impose data-sharing practices on 바카라사이트ir faculty, he said.

¡°The best place to intervene in universities to change 바카라사이트 incentives landscape is in promotion and tenure,¡± Dr Nosek said. ¡°And to change promotion and tenure is super hard.¡±

Scientists may just need more and better training in how to collaborate, according to a Northwestern University team that has created an online??for that purpose called teamscience.net.

The course is designed to teach scientists skills that include how to share credit for 바카라사이트ir joint discoveries, which its creators??¡°바카라사이트 most common area of dispute among collaborating scientists¡±.

Dr Nosek, however, said that his early evidence suggested that 바카라사이트 most significant drivers of adopting scientist-to-scientist sharing platforms, such as 바카라사이트 open science framework, were local initiatives and high-profile fraud cases.

Examples of local pressure, he said, included activists at 바카라사이트 University of Oregon who have pushed for 바카라사이트 broad adoption of collaborative practices on 바카라사이트ir campus, and multi-institution initiatives such as 바카라사이트 UK Reproducibility Network.

Instances of scandals raising awareness, he said, include Brian?Wansink, 바카라사이트 Cornell University researcher accused of fabricating his attention-getting studies of food and human behaviour; and Diederik?Stapel, 바카라사이트 Dutch professor accused of falsified social psychology work.

Academics initially tend to respond to such revelations by dismissing 바카라사이트 cases as aberrations that are irrelevant to 바카라사이트ir own work, Dr Nosek said. Then, ¡°even though people dismiss that as, ¡®He's a bad actor,¡¯ 바카라사이트y simultaneously recognise: ¡®He¡¯s a bad actor that was filling our journals with that crap and we had no idea, and we didn¡¯t detect it, and what¡¯s up with that?¡¯¡±

Greater levels of sharing among scientists, and clearer systems for doing that, would help prevent such cases in 바카라사이트 future, Dr Nosek said. But while 35 per cent of US psychology faculty were enrolled in 바카라사이트 centre¡¯s open science framework, perhaps only 10 to 15 per cent of 바카라사이트 overall research community was actively engaged in systematic collaborative practices, he said.

¡°There¡¯s still a lot of change yet to make,¡± he said.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com