This type of thing is probably good overall, but in practice can be a mixed bag. Many federally funded research projects still partner with universities as well as research institutions in other...
This type of thing is probably good overall, but in practice can be a mixed bag. Many federally funded research projects still partner with universities as well as research institutions in other countries, and often times a main incentive for these partner institutions to put time and money into the project is priority access to the data products produced. If the data is going to be made publicly available anyway, that incentive is no longer there - potential partners can just access the data when it is made available without the need to contribute in producing it. This type of thing has been a concern on past collaborations I have been on that have sought to make data available quickly after it is collected.
Except that if they wait for it to be published, they're starting from scratch on their own research track after publication. Yes, they don't have to pay for it, but they've lost first mover...
Except that if they wait for it to be published, they're starting from scratch on their own research track after publication. Yes, they don't have to pay for it, but they've lost first mover advantage.
Not quite, it depends on how the data is released. It is not clear from the linked announcement, but it is very possible that raw data products themselves will be released once they are produced,...
Not quite, it depends on how the data is released. It is not clear from the linked announcement, but it is very possible that raw data products themselves will be released once they are produced, separate from publications that analyze said data. Additionally, there are often many different analyses that can be done with the same data - it's often not the case that the data produced by a given experiment is useful for only one thing. In these cases, even if the initial released comes with some preliminary analyses, it is likely that there are still plenty of things people will be waiting to do with the data and where they haven't lost the "first mover advantage". Right now these people would be incentivized to contribute to the experiment producing said data.
But when it's released is valuable, right? The papers will be publicly available upon their free and public release, but what's the delay between the finalization of the data set and the...
But when it's released is valuable, right? The papers will be publicly available upon their free and public release, but what's the delay between the finalization of the data set and the publication of the paper? And what can people do with it during that time?
This is pretty big. Only downside is how far away the due date is. I expect there will be lots of pushback from publication corporations. From the memorandum:
This is pretty big. Only downside is how far away the due date is. I expect there will be lots of pushback from publication corporations.
From the memorandum:
This memorandum provides policy guidance to federal agencies with research and development
expenditures on updating their public access policies. In accordance with this memorandum,
OSTP recommends that federal agencies, to the extent consistent with applicable law:
Update their public access policies as soon as possible, and no later than December 31 st ,
2025, to make publications and their supporting data resulting from federally funded
research publicly accessible without an embargo on their free and public release;
Establish transparent procedures that ensure scientific and research integrity is
maintained in public access policies; and,
Coordinate with OSTP to ensure equitable delivery of federally funded research results
and data.
This type of thing is probably good overall, but in practice can be a mixed bag. Many federally funded research projects still partner with universities as well as research institutions in other countries, and often times a main incentive for these partner institutions to put time and money into the project is priority access to the data products produced. If the data is going to be made publicly available anyway, that incentive is no longer there - potential partners can just access the data when it is made available without the need to contribute in producing it. This type of thing has been a concern on past collaborations I have been on that have sought to make data available quickly after it is collected.
Except that if they wait for it to be published, they're starting from scratch on their own research track after publication. Yes, they don't have to pay for it, but they've lost first mover advantage.
Not quite, it depends on how the data is released. It is not clear from the linked announcement, but it is very possible that raw data products themselves will be released once they are produced, separate from publications that analyze said data. Additionally, there are often many different analyses that can be done with the same data - it's often not the case that the data produced by a given experiment is useful for only one thing. In these cases, even if the initial released comes with some preliminary analyses, it is likely that there are still plenty of things people will be waiting to do with the data and where they haven't lost the "first mover advantage". Right now these people would be incentivized to contribute to the experiment producing said data.
But when it's released is valuable, right? The papers will be publicly available upon their free and public release, but what's the delay between the finalization of the data set and the publication of the paper? And what can people do with it during that time?
This is pretty big. Only downside is how far away the due date is. I expect there will be lots of pushback from publication corporations.
From the memorandum: