Didn’t they teach us to share in kindergarten?
In my post about Google hosting scientific data, I mentioned that the first obstacle to any data-sharing project is to getting researchers to want to share their data.
Yes, there are many proponents of open source and open access in the scientific community - but that doesn’t mean everyone wants to share. Biostatistician Andrew Vickers writes in the New York Times that many cancer researchers refuse to share their data, even when sharing it could potentially save lives.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) request that researchers they fund share their data:
The NIH expects and supports the timely release and sharing of final research data from NIH-supported studies for use by other researchers. Starting with the October 1, 2003 receipt date, investigators submitting an NIH application seeking $500,000 or more in direct costs in any single year are expected to include a plan for data sharing or state why data sharing is not possible. (NIH Data Sharing Policy)
However, I do not think they are enforcing this policy, which has been in place much longer than the Public Access Policy mandating public access to peer-reviewed publications resulting from NIH-funded studies.
