Toward a Conceptual Framework for Data Sharing Practices in Social Sciences: A Profile Approach

摘要

This paper investigates the landscape of data-sharingrnpractices in social sciences via the data sharing profilernapproach. Guided by two pre-existing conceptualrnframeworks, Knowledge Infrastructure (KI) and the Theoryrnof Remote Scientific Collaboration (TORSC), we designrnand test a profile tool that consists of four overarchingrndimensions for capturing social scientists’ data practices,rnnamely: 1) data characteristics, 2) perceived technicalrninfrastructure, 3) perceived organizational context, and 4)rnindividual characteristics.rnTo ensure that the instrument can be applied in real andrnpractical terms, we conduct a case study by collectingrnresponses from 93 early-career social scientists at twornresearch universities in the Pittsburgh Area, U.S. Thernresults suggest that there is no significant difference, inrngeneral, among scholars who prefer quantitative, mixedrnmethod, or qualitative research methods in terms ofrnresearch activities and data-sharing practices. We alsornconfirm that there is a gap between participants’ attitudesrnabout research openness and their actual sharing behaviors,rnhighlighting the need to study the “barrier” in addition tornthe “incentive” of research data sharing.