Abstract
Effective data management and data sharing are crucial components of the research lifecycle, yet evidence suggests that many social science graduate programs are not providing training in these areas. The current exploratory study assesses how U.S. masters and doctoral programs in the social sciences include formal, non-formal, and informal training in data management and sharing. We conducted a survey of 150 graduate programs across six social science disciplines, and used a mix of closed and open-ended questions focused on the extent to which programs provide such training and exposure. Results from our survey suggested a deficit of formal training in both data management and data sharing, limited non-formal training, and cursory informal exposure to these topics. Utilizing the results of our survey, we conducted a syllabus analysis to further explore the formal and non-formal content of graduate programs beyond self-report. Our syllabus analysis drew from an expanded seven social science disciplines for a total of 140 programs. The syllabus analysis supported our prior findings that formal and non-formal inclusion of data management and data sharing training is not common practice. Overall, in both the survey and syllabi study we found a lack of both formal and non-formal training on data management and data sharing. Our findings have implications for data repository staff and data service professionals as they consider their methods for encouraging data sharing and prepare for the needs of data depositors. These results can also inform the development and structuring of graduate education in the social sciences, so that researchers are trained early in data management and sharing skills and are able to benefit from making their data available as early in their careers as possible.
Highlights
Research training is a crucial part of social science graduate programs which aim to prepare students to be well-rounded scholars and professionals
We carried out a survey of a select set of social science graduate programs to assess the inclusion of data management and sharing-related content, as well as the experiential development of these skills as a result of participating in the program
The majority of programs (16, 66.7%) in the survey expressed confidence in the adequacy of their graduates’ research skills. When asked if they believed their students leave the program with a good understanding of data sharing, half of respondents reported being unsure (12), while 29.2% (7) reported that they do not think their graduates leave with a solid grasp on this topic
Summary
Research training is a crucial part of social science graduate programs which aim to prepare students to be well-rounded scholars and professionals. The majority of these programs offer curricula in research methods and provide experience in data collection, it is less clear how many students leave graduate school prepared to effectively manage and share their data. Researchers are legally required to maintain their research data well after funding for their project is complete (Zacharias, 2010). Research suggests that social science researchers do not feel satisfied with their training in data management, with much of their training occurring on the job rather than through formal education (Jahnke & Asher, 2012). Whether emerging scientists are being effectively taught the specific skills necessary to manage and share data remains unclear
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