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Why Open Data?
- to meet journal publishing requirements;
- to comply with funder policies (for example, the ); or
- to increase visibility of research.
The Tri-Agency Policy on Research Data Management will include requirements for data retention1 and deposit, expected to be enacted by the end of 2026. It is anticipated that this requirement will mandate that data be “as open as possible, as closed as necessary” with deposit of data in an open repository considered the gold standard for data that does not have ethical restrictions on sharing and reuse.
The benefits to scholars of making data open include:
- Reproducibility: Open data increases the trustworthiness of research findings by allowing researchers to reproduce and verify their colleagues’ research results.
- Reducing duplication: Open data minimizes duplication of effort since the same data can be reused to create new research.
- Supporting training: Open datasets can be used as learning objects by students and trainees.
- Creating opportunities for impact: Open data accelerates the discovery process by allowing others to build on previously validated data and research contributions and to create opportunities for innovation and prosperity. Research also shows that .
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Data retention is the preservation and management of research data after completion of a research project.
Data retention does not necessarily involve making the data openly discoverable or accessible to others. Data retention may be accomplished by depositing data in a data repository, or through other means such as local retention on approved hardware. In cases where no suitable repository exists, planned and clearly documented local data retention by the research team, in conjunction with a data availability statement, may be an acceptable alternative to depositing data in a repository.
A data availability statement – also called a data access statement – gives the location of the research data that supports the findings of a study and describes the conditions under which the data may be accessed for verification of findings or for re-use.