Data & Openness

‘Open Science’ has emerged as a prominent banner under which individuals and organizations have framed efforts to promote greater openness in science in recent years, including the promotion of data sharing. Through making findings and data universally accessible, policies pursued under this label seek to realize the norm of openness so long attributed to science.

As of part of a recently completed Leverhulme Trust award, Sabina Leonelli, Ann Kelly, Louise Bezuidenhout and I have been seeking to understand current data sharing practices amongst communities of scientists in resource constrained environments. Based on fieldwork with biochemistry laboratories in sub-Sahara Africa, we considered how, when, why, and to what ends scientists share data.

We argue that the research environments examined challenge the presumptions in Open Science discussions about how research should be conducted; particularly with respect to data sharing. Given inequalities across the globe, in practice sharing mechanisms and openness strategies can foster binds and dilemmas for those in resource constrained settings.

Selected Publications

(For a complete listing of my publications click here)