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The State of Open Data: From theory to practice

Case studies and commentary from libraries, publishers, funders and industry

The State of Open Data: From theory to practice

This new supplementary report offers real-life perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of sharing research data openly, giving us unique viewpoints as told by members of our research community – industry, funders, academic institutions, and publishers.

From theorry to practice: The state of open data

For the first time in the history of The State of Open Data comes a supplementary report that expands upon the results of our years of surveys. From theory to practice offers real-life perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of sharing research data openly, giving us unique viewpoints as told by members of our research community – industry, funders, academic institutions, and publishers.

By sharing their case studies, the authors of this report enhance the experience of The State of Open Data 2023’s key findings and recommendations. Here we see how some of those recommendations are being put into practice, and the effort being made to ensure open research has a robust, meaningful, sustainable, and impactful future.

The State of Open Data 2023 deliberately took a more analytical approach to the survey data than in previous years. From theory to practice provides essential context that any member of the research community might recognize, and wish to learn from and emulate.

Summary

  • The NIH Generalist Repository Ecosystem Initiative: meeting community needs for FAIR data sharing and discovery
  • Operationalise data policies through collaborative approaches – the momentum is now 
  • One size does not fit all: an investigation into how institutional libraries are tailoring support to their researchers’ needs
  • How Open Pharma supports responsible data sharing for pharma research publications

State of Open Data 2023

The State of Open Data 2023 report dives deeper into the survey data than ever before and provides unparalleled insights into how researchers are sharing their data, what motivates them, what challenges they face and how these factors differ when we consider the different geographies, career stage and subject area of expertise of our respondents.

The State of Open Data 2023 Report 

The State of Open Data 2023 deliberately takes a more analytical approach to the survey data than in previous years. With more data surfaced, the 2023 report provides unique and unparalleled insights into researchers’ attitudes towards and interactions with open data and data sharing. 

The report digs into the survey responses and looks at differing trends when comparing respondents’ geographies and other demographic factors. Using these insights, we take a look towards the future and offer some recommendations to the academic community.

Quick Read

Support is not making its way to those who need it

Over three-quarters of respondents had never received support with making their data openly available. 

One size does not fit all

Variations in responses from different subject expertise and geographies highlight a need for a more nuanced approach to research data management support globally. 

Challenging stereotypes

Are later career academics really opposed to progress? The results of the 2023 survey indicate that career stage is not a significant factor in open data awareness or support levels. 

Credit is an ongoing issue 

For eight years running, our survey has revealed a recurring concern among researchers: the perception that they don’t receive sufficient recognition for openly sharing their data.

AI awareness hasn’t translated to action

For the first time, this year we asked survey respondents to indicate if they were using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for data collection, processing and metadata collection.

Additional resources

Raw survey data and survey questions

The State of Open Data 2023: Press release

Partner report on The State of Open Data in China

Key takeaways for librarians

The State of Open Data 2023: Webinar Series  

To celebrate tha launch of The State of Open Data 2023 and to share the key findings of this year’s survey, we hosted a webinar series.

Find out more about the sessions and watch on demand.

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