Paper short abstract:

In this study we shift focus from concerns of open data to a stratified account of data sharing practices. Through in-depth case studies, the aim of this approach is to develop a better understanding of established data practices as a means to inform the challenges and opportunities of the Open Data movement.

Paper long abstract:

Studies of open data often focus on the status and potential of making data publicly available for reuse by academic actors situated outside of the local context in which they were produced or by public actors not directly associated with academic research (Borgman 2012). This formulation of open data imagines the widest practical range of potential (re)users and invokes significant effort to prepare data for use by unknown others. Often overlooked in this approach is the assessment of data practices that occur in fields with a tradition of data sharing that would not be considered 'open data'.

In this study, we shift the focus from concerns of public access to a stratified account of data sharing practices. We expand the conceptualization of openness to include epistemic concerns, such as: facilitating discussion about the practicalities of making data reusable, confronting concerns about transparency and validity, foregrounding concerns about globalization of research, and drawing attention to the commodification of data (Leonelli 2013:7).

To achieve this, we investigate data sharing practices within three fields: Soil Science, Human Genetics, and Digital Humanities. Empirically, we draw on interviews of key actors involved with data collection, analysis, and deposition. With this disciplinary mix, we expect to find new and emerging roles associated with data, and multiple configurations of data sharing within each of the selected cases. The aim of this approach is to develop a better understanding of established data practices as a means to inform the challenges and opportunities of the Open Data movement.