As digital technologies are expanding the power and reach of research, they are also raising complex issues. These include complications in ensuring the validity of research data; standards that do not keep pace with the high rate of innovation; restrictions on data sharing that reduce the ability of researchers to verify results and build on previous research; and huge increases in the amount of data being generated, creating severe challenges in preserving that data for long-term use.

Ensuring the Integrity, Accessibility, and Stewardship of Research Data in the Digital Age examines the consequences of the changes affecting research data with respect to three issues - integrity, accessibility, and stewardship-and finds a need for a new approach to the design and the management of research projects. The report recommends that all researchers receive appropriate training in the management of research data, and calls on researchers to make all research data, methods, and other information underlying results publicly accessible in a timely manner. The book also sees the stewardship of research data as a critical long-term task for the research enterprise and its stakeholders. Individual researchers, research institutions, research sponsors, professional societies, and journals involved in scientific, engineering, and medical research will find this book an essential guide to the principles affecting research data in the digital age.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE ON ENSURING THE UTILITY AND INTEGRITY OF RESEARCH DATA IN A DIGITAL AGE
• COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC POLICY
• Preface
• Acknowledgment of Reviewers
• Summary
• 1. Research Data in the Digital Age
  • CHALLENGES POSED BY RESEARCH DATA IN A DIGITAL AGE
  • DESCRIPTIONS OF TERMS USED IN THE REPORT
  • THE VARIETIES OF RESEARCH DATA
  • STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT
• 2. Ensuring the Integrity of Research Data
  • THE ROLES OF DATA PRODUCERS, PROVIDERS, AND USERS
  • THE COLLECTIVE SCRUTINY OF RESEARCH DATA AND RESULTS
  • PEER REVIEW AND OTHER MEANS FOR ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF DATA
  • DATA INTEGRITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE AND THE ROLE OF DATA PROFESSIONALS
  • GENERAL PRINCIPLE FOR ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF RESEARCH DATA
  • THE OBLIGATIONS OF RESEARCHERS TO ENSURE THE INTEGRITY OF RESEARCH DATA
  • THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING
  • PRODUCING CLEAR, UP-TO-DATE STANDARDS FOR DATA INTEGRITY: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE
  • THE ROLES OF DATA PROFESSIONALS
• 3. Ensuring Access to Research Data
  • BARRIERS TO SHARING DATA
  • THE COSTS OF LIMITING ACCESS TO DATA
  • DATA ACCESS ISSUES IN RESEARCH AFFECTING PUBLIC POLICY OR PRIVATE INTERESTS
  • OWNERSHIP OF RESEARCH DATA AND RELATED PRODUCTS
  • LEGAL AND POLICY REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESS TO DATA
  • THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF ACCESS TO RESEARCH DATA
  • GENERAL PRINCIPLE FOR ENHANCING ACCESS TO RESEARCH DATA
  • RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESEARCHERS
  • RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESEARCH FIELDS
  • RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, RESEARCH SPONSORS, PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES, AND JOURNALS
• 4. Promoting the Stewardship of Research Data
  • THE LOSS AND UNDERUTILIZATION OF RESEARCH DATA
  • INFRASTRUCTURE AND INCENTIVES FOR THE STEWARDSHIP OF DATA
  • ANNOTATING DATA FOR LONG-TERM USE
  • FOSTERING DATA STEWARDSHIP FOR THE BROAD RESEARCH ENTERPRISE
  • GENERAL PRINCIPLE FOR ENHANCING THE STEWARDSHIP OF RESEARCH DATA
  • RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESEARCHERS
  • RESPONSIBILITIES OF RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, RESEARCH SPONSORS, AND JOURNALS
• 5. Defining Roles and Responsibilities
  • ASSIGNING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
  • RESEARCHERS
  • RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS
  • RESEARCH SPONSORS
  • PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND JOURNALS
  • CONCLUSION
• Appendix A Biographical Information on the Members of the Committee on Ensuring the Utility and Integrity of Research Data in a Digital Age
• Appendix B Relevant National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council Reports
• Appendix C Letters from Scientific Journals Requesting the Study

This study was supported by the National Research Council, United States Department of Agriculture, National Aeronautics and Astronautics Administration, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of Health and Human Services, United States Department of Energy, Eli Lilly and Company, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Nature Publishing Group, The Rockefeller University Press, New England Journal of Medicine, American Chemical Society, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Geophysical Union and IEEE.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

The material is based upon work supported by NASA under award #NNX07AP21G. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.