Abstract: As universities recognize the inherent value in the data they collect and hold, they encounter unforeseen challenges in stewarding those data in ways that balance accountability, transparency, and protection of privacy, academic freedom, and intellectual property. Two parallel developments in academic data collection are converging: (1) open access requirements, whereby researchers must provide access to their data as a condition of obtaining grant funding or publishing results in journals; and (2) the vast accumulation of “grey data” about individuals in their daily activities of research, teaching, learning, services, and administration. The boundaries between research and grey data are blurring, making it more difficult to assess the risks and responsibilities associated with any data collection. Many sets of data, both research and grey, fall outside privacy regulations such as HIPAA, FERPA, and PII. Universities are exploiting these data for research, learning analytics, faculty evaluation, strategic decisions, and other sensitive matters. Commercial entities are besieging universities with requests for access to data or for partnerships to mine them. The privacy frontier facing research universities spans open access practices, uses and misuses of data, public records requests, cyber risk, and curating data for privacy protection. This Article explores the competing values inherent in data stewardship and makes recommendations for practice by drawing on the pioneering work of the University of California in privacy and information security, data governance, and cyber risk.
Category Archives: oa.case.data
Open Data: The Global Effort for Open Access to Satellite Data | The MIT Press
“Mariel Borowitz’s new book, Open Space: The Global Effort for Open Access to Environmental Satellite Data traces the history of environmental satellite data sharing policies, offering a model of data-sharing policy development, case studies and practical recommendations for increasing global data sharing. Below, she writes about why some countries have adopted an open data policy, while others have not.”
New study on the benefits of Open Data – European Data Portal
“The Bertelsmann foundation has published a new study on Open Data: Open Data – Wertschöpfung im digitalen Zeitalter (Open Data – Value creation in the digital age). Illustrated with examples from both Germany and other countries, the study emphasizes that freely accessible data brings many practical advantages to citizens, politics and the economy and could even increase social prosperity.”
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: How Alem Matthees letter helped solve medical mystery | NT News
A case study in which the refusal to provide open data for a medical study hid low-quality research. A medical patient eventually forced the disclosure of the data through a series of FOI requests.
Open Data in Scientific Settings: From Policy to Practice
Abstract: Open access to data is commonly required by funding agencies, journals, and public policy, despite the lack of agreement on the concept of “open data.” We present findings from two longitudinal case studies of major scientific collaborations, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in astronomy and the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations in deep subseafloor biosphere studies. These sites offer comparisons in rationales and policy interpretations of open data, which are shaped by their differing scientific objectives. While policy rationales and implementations shape infrastructures for scientific data, these rationales also are shaped by pre-existing infrastructure. Meanings of the term “open data” are contingent on project objectives and on the infrastructures to which they have access.
Open Data in Scientific Settings: From Policy to Practice
Abstract: Open access to data is commonly required by funding agencies, journals, and public policy, despite the lack of agreement on the concept of “open data.” We present findings from two longitudinal case studies of major scientific collaborations, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in astronomy and the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations in deep subseafloor biosphere studies. These sites offer comparisons in rationales and policy interpretations of open data, which are shaped by their differing scientific objectives. While policy rationales and implementations shape infrastructures for scientific data, these rationales also are shaped by pre-existing infrastructure. Meanings of the term “open data” are contingent on project objectives and on the infrastructures to which they have access.
Exploring the opportunities and challenges of implementing open research strategies within development institutions
“Open research data is free to use, modify, and share for any purpose by anyone. The significance of primary data gathered in research projects across domains is its high potential for not only academic re-use, but its value beyond academic purposes, particularly for governments, the private sector, and civil society.
More importantly, the availability of this data provides an ideal opportunity to test the key premise underlying open research data – that when it is made publicly accessible in easily reusable formats, it can foster new knowledge and discovery, and encourage collaboration among researchers and organizations.
Momentum towards open access has been growing as numerous funding agencies implement open access policies. However, research funding organizations need to be aware of and have an understanding of the opportunities and challenges of open research data policies. For example, realistic and cost-effective strategies for funded researchers to collect, manage, and store the various types of data resulting from their research are unclear. Furthermore, publishing open research data requires skillsets that researchers may have yet to develop. Finally, intellectual property rights and privacy are significant concerns that need to be addressed.
This project will develop a tested set of policy and best practice implementation guidelines by conducting open data pilot case studies….”