Do journal data sharing mandates work? Life sciences evidence from Dryad
Abstract
Purpose: Data sharing is widely thought to help research quality and efficiency. Since data sharing mandates are increasingly adopted by journals this paper assesses whether they work. Design/methodology: This study examines two evolutionary biology journals, Evolution and Heredity, that have data sharing mandates and make extensive use of Dryad. It uses a quantitative analysis of presence in Dryad, downloads and citations. Findings: Within both journals, data sharing seems to be complete showing that the mandates work on a technical level. Low correlations (0.15-0.18) between data downloads and article citation counts for articles published in 2012 within these journals indicate a weak relationship between data sharing and research impact. An average of 40-55 data downloads per article after a few years suggests that some use is found for shared life sciences data. Research limitations: The value of shared data uses is unclear. Practical implications: Data sharing mandates should be encouraged as an effective strategy. Originality/value: This is the first analysis of the effectiveness of data sharing mandates.Citation
Mike Thelwall, Kayvan Kousha, (2017) "Do journal data sharing mandates work? Life sciences evidence from Dryad", Aslib Journal of Information Management, Vol. 69 Issue: 1, pp.36-45, https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-09-2016-0159Publisher
EmeraldJournal
Aslib Journal of Information ManagementAdditional Links
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journal/ajimType
Journal articleLanguage
enISSN
2050-3806ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1108/AJIM-09-2016-0159
Scopus Count
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