Data sharing makes scientific sense, but the career-conscious nature of scientists may stand in the way.

Guest contributor Rachel Yoho

As with many aspects of society, human nature shapes interactions in science research. When we consider “data sharing,” the likely response is probably a shrug. We’ve all been there. Group work and competition at its finest. The increasingly competitive environment for grant funding, and the ‘publish or perish’ attitude promotes the “mine, mine, mine” attitude among scientists. To focus on the issue of overcoming career-protecting objections to data sharing however, we can focus on several trends.

Data ownership
With many factors, including budget cuts, sequestration and economic downturns, the current scarcity of grant funding creates financial stress in labs. ”Big grants” like the NIH R01, had lower success rates for new grants in 2014 as compared to the last four of five years. In turn, data ownership becomes possessive to the PI and lab, even beyond that of the funding agency or institution. Simply, it’s our grant money, it’s our data. By working for and finally achieving a grant, often after many attempts, a sense of accomplishment and pride in ownership develops. Continue reading →