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Apr 9, 2018
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Policy RECommendations for Open Access to Research Data in Europe

Apr 9, 2018
The first deliverable of the RECODE project on Open Access to research data is now available. The report, Stakeholder values and ecosystems, undertakes a case study analysis of stakeholder values and inter-relationships in five different disciplines; physics, earth sciences, archaeology, health and bioengineering.
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The Policy RECommendations for Open Access to Research Data in Europe (RECODE) project will leverage existing networks, communities and projects to address challenges within the open access and data dissemination and preservation sector and produce policy recommendations for open access to research data based on existing good practice.

The open access to research data environment includes several networks, initiatives, projects and communities that are fragmented by discipline, geography, stakeholder category (publishers, academics, repositories, etc.) as well as other boundaries. RECODE will provide a space for these European stakeholders to work together to provide common solutions for these issues.

The RECODE project will culminate in a series of policy recommendations for open access to research data targeted at different stakeholders and policy-makers.

Project website:  www.recodeproject.eu

The analysis identifies key issues that need to be addressed so that open access to data can deliver promised benefits. In order to drive implementation of open access to data:
  • Developments have to be sensitive to specific and various scientific practices to ensure that existing research rigour is maintained.
  • Links between infrastructure, legal and ethical issues, and institutional frameworks must be forged within and between disciplines to support open access to all types of data.
  • Anonymity and privacy of research participants needs to be fully safeguarded and access to sensitive datasets needs be carefully managed without introducing barriers to openness.
  • All open data should be referenced and attributed correctly as part of ethical research practice.
  • Cultural issues (i.e., competition within science for reward and reputation, lack of trust between scientists and lack of career-related rewards and prestige) associated with publishing and sharing data must be addressed.

Concrete examples and more detail about these findings can be accessed in the full report. RECODE will use this information as a reference point from which to investigate technological, ethical and legal, institutional and policy issues in each of these case study areas.

To read more about each of these issues, and to find out more about RECODE events, visit the website: www.recodeproject.eu.

To sign up to the project newsletter, contact kush.wadhwa@trilateralresearch.com.

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