Feature
Rebecca Pool asks: has Covid-19 pushed the move towards open data to the point of no return?
When the coronavirus pandemic struck and UK education shut down, University of Bristol librarian Dr Kirsty Merrett was overwhelmed with requests for assistance with data management plans. Perhaps not a huge surprise, as many researchers were working from home instead of the lab. But for the research data management specialist, the sharp rise in interest bodes well for data- sharing. ‘I don’t know if researchers were thinking “Oh, let’s sort out that BBSRC grant that I’ve been putting off for a couple of years”, but we were swamped,’ says Merrett. ‘In the short term, I don’t expect this will have a monumental impact on data-sharing, but because this period has raised awareness of the need for data management, we may see more data publications in two to three years’ time.’
“Should we be held to ransom by a pandemic again, research can still be undertaken remotely”
Merrett also noted a rising number of data
accesses at data-bris, with more and more researchers tapping into the respository’s existing datasets. University database records reveal that from June to September, data accesses leapt 68 per cent from 2,589 to 4,350. Merrett is excited. ‘Don’t you think that this is pushing the envelope and forcing those accessing the data to look beyond their own research?’ she asks. ‘I’m hoping this will raise awareness of the possibilities
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