Overcoming issues in open access to research data
Making research results more accessible is good for science, innovation and the knowledge society. However, open access issues raised by technology, infrastructure, ethics, law and disjointed policies are being dealt with independently by a variety of European actors (government, publishers, funders, research institutions, and others) who may not be in synch with each other. The EU-funded 'Policy recommendations for open access to research data in Europe' (RECODE) project brought together open access stakeholders throughout Europe to overcome barriers and propose common policy recommendations. To achieve this, the project partners first identified and mapped stakeholder values and motivations in open access to research data and data dissemination and preservation. They held a workshop to assess and identify gaps, barriers and good practice scenarios for tackling various data sharing issues. The team explored issues related to infrastructure, technological, legal, ethical, institutional and policy in five disciplinary areas. These case studies, particle physics and particle astrophysics, health, bioinformatics, environmental science and the humanities, were useful for identifying mutual problem areas and determining good practice. Based on this research, the project team has developed targeted guidelines for funders, research institutions, data centres and publishers on supporting open access to and preservation of research data. The final recommendations were presented at a conference attended by more than 200 participants from 40 countries and can be found on the project website. The RECODE project has led to a better understanding of the challenges, good practices and policy requirements for create a data ecosystem that enables the provision of open access to and the reuse of research data. The project will help form a common policy framework on open access to research data.
Keywords
Research, open access, publicly funded research, research data
