Abstract
BackgroundE-science technologies have significantly increased the availability of data. Research grant providers such as the European Union increasingly require open access publishing of research results and data. However, despite its significance to research, the adoption rate of open data technology remains low across all disciplines, especially in Europe where research has primarily focused on technical solutions (such as Zenodo or the Open Science Framework) or considered only parts of the issue.Methods and findingsIn this study, we emphasized the non-technical factors perceived value and uncertainty factors in the context of academia, which impact researchers’ acceptance of open data–the idea that researchers should not only publish their findings in the form of articles or reports, but also share the corresponding raw data sets. We present the results of a broad quantitative analysis including N = 995 researchers from 13 large to medium-sized universities in Germany. In order to test 11 hypotheses regarding researchers’ intentions to share their data, as well as detect any hierarchical or disciplinary differences, we employed a structured equation model (SEM) following the partial least squares (PLS) modeling approach.ConclusionsGrounded in the value-based theory, this article proclaims that most individuals in academia embrace open data when the perceived advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Furthermore, uncertainty factors impact the perceived value (consisting of the perceived advantages and disadvantages) of sharing research data. We found that researchers’ assumptions about effort required during the data preparation process were diminished by awareness of e-science technologies (such as Zenodo or the Open Science Framework), which also increased their tendency to perceive personal benefits via data exchange. Uncertainty factors seem to influence the intention to share data. Effects differ between disciplines and hierarchical levels.
Highlights
With the advance of digitization, the supply of data available to researchers has continued to grow
We found that researchers’ assumptions about effort required during the data preparation process were diminished by awareness of e-science technologies, which increased their tendency to perceive personal benefits via data exchange
The Promax rotation value was set to kappa = 4, resulting in ten factors with 38 items
Summary
With the advance of digitization, the supply of data available to researchers has continued to grow. Open data is the idea that researchers and practitioners–such as governments and other institutions–should publish their findings in the form of articles or reports, and share the corresponding raw data sets. Endorsing this idea may be economically motivated–in order to provide benefits for developers, citizens or companies–as well as socially motivated– in order to provide transparency, accountability, responsiveness, and participation [2]. E-science technologies have significantly increased the availability of data Research grant providers such as the European Union increasingly require open access publishing of research results and data. Despite its significance to research, the adoption rate of open data technology remains low across all disciplines, especially in Europe where research has primarily focused on technical solutions (such as Zenodo or the Open Science Framework) or considered only parts of the issue.
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