Why should you share your data?

When we talk about data sharing, we are referring to providing the information needed to interpret, reuse and reproduce the experiment. The underlying idea is to make research data more available, citable, discoverable, interpretable, reusable and reproducible (Figure 1).

Providing access to data is crucial. As a consequence of the scientific method itself, where the validity of a conclusion depends on the ability to reproduce the underlying results, the publication of scientific data allows other scientists to replicate and then, importantly, extend knowledge in unanticipated directions. Sharing data and using it to build knowledge is what science is all about. By sharing your data, you can improve the reproducibility and visibility of your research, which increases your chances of being cited and forming new collaborations (1).

Sharing data also makes sense from an economic perspective and there is now a move towards open data to facilitate research and development in industry  (1-2).

Journals and funding bodies often require you to submit your functional genomics data

Guided by the principle of peer review, many funding bodies and journals now require the deposition of functional genomics data in a public database as a way of ensuring reproducibility and standardisation. Rather than mandating data sharing, Scientific Data has taken a different approach. This approach seeks to reward scientists for releasing their data and ensures data quality adheres to community standards.

A striking example of the importance of sharing data comes from the Ebola virus outbreak in 2014 and 2015: Make outbreak research open access (3).

For more on the importance of sharing data, watch the recorded webinar Open access: Data sharing and submission.