Data Sharing Practices among Researchers at South African Universities

Abstract

Research data management practices have gained momentum the world over. This is due to increased demands by governments and other funding agencies to have research data archived and shared as widely as possible. This paper sought to establish the data sharing practices of researchers in South Africa. The study further sought to establish the level of collaboration among researchers in sharing research data at the university level. The outcomes of the survey will help the researchers to develop appropriate data literacy awareness programmes meant to stimulate growth in data sharing practices for the benefit of research, not only in South Africa, but the world at large. A survey research method was used to gather data from willing public universities in South Africa. A similar study was conducted in other countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Turkey but the Researchers believe that circumstances in the developed world may differ with the South African research environment, hence the current study. The major finding of this study was that most researchers preferred to use data produced by others but less keen on sharing their own data. This study is the first of its kind in South Africa which investigates data sharing practices of researchers from multi-disciplinary fields at the university level and will contribute immensely to the growing body of literature in the area of research data management.

Narratives and Counternarratives on Data Sharing in Africa

“…As explained by Bangani and Moyo [18], to understand the sharing practices of researchers, it is essential first to know where the data comes from and the lives, cultures, and communities it represents. Bangani and Moyo [18] also conclude that most of the emerging researchers in South Africa would prefer to use data from other sources and are not interested in sharing their own data. Most of these emerging researchers indicated a lack of resources, misuse of data, and trust issues as the significant challenges they face in sharing their data.…”

“…Despite extensive calls for data sharing and open data, backed by various initiatives and organizations, data access remains relatively limited within the continent [34,43,113,119]. Bangani and Moyo [18], for example, compare data sharing practices among researchers in South Africa to researchers in countries such as France, the United Kingdom, and Turkey. The authors state that most researchers in South Africa are not interested in sharing their data and prefer to use data generated by others; only 19.4% of South African researchers indicated that they currently share their research data with others.…”

Open research data in African academic and research libraries: a literature analysis

“…Bangani and Moyo (2019) report on data sharing practices among researchers at South African universities and have shown that many researchers preferred to use data produced by others but were less keen to share their own data. This could be in part due to lack of clear policy guidelines and incentives within the institutions in which they operate, pointing to an environment that clearly lacks a national open science framework which incentivises researchers to share data for national scientific progress.…”

Research Data Handling by Researchers in the Selected Universities in Tanzania

“…Several studies have highlighted several benefits of proper handling of research data. These include improving research data management activities, reducing duplication of research data collection and the ability for such data to be reused (Bangani & Moyo, 2019;Chigwada, Chiparausha, & Kasiroori, 2017;Deards, 2013;Gewin, 2015). Additionally, if data are handled properly using systems such as data repositories preferably open repositories, they could enhance the accountability of researchers and validation of research findings (Deards, 2013;Jaakkola, Mäkinen, & Eteläaho, 2014).…”

“…In academic sector, proper handling of research data plays a very significant role in academic and research activities. The proper handling of research data facilitates transparency and accountability in research processes as it allows validation of research findings (Bangani & Moyo, 2019;Chigwada, Chiparausa & Kasiroori, 2017;Deards, 2013). Despite the benefits that come with proper research data handling, the state of research data handling by universities in Tanzania is not known.…”