Early Career Researchers Embrace Data Sharing

Area of Science:

• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Animal Behavior
• Conservation Science

Background:

• Data sharing is crucial for scientific reproducibility and advancing research.
• Animal biotelemetry studies generate large datasets that can be valuable for future research.
• Practices and attitudes towards data sharing may differ across researcher demographics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate data sharing practices in animal biotelemetry research.
• To compare data sharing willingness between senior researchers and early career researchers (ECRs).
• To understand the factors influencing data sharing decisions in published research.

Main Methods:

• A request for raw data was sent to corresponding authors of 771 animal biotelemetry manuscripts.
• Manuscripts were published between 1995 and 2015.
• Response rates to data requests were analyzed based on the career level of the corresponding author.

Main Results:

• Only 11% of data requests to senior researchers received a positive response.
• 72% of data requests to early career researchers (ECRs) were positive.
• Senior researchers appear to perceive limited benefits from public data archiving, often retaining data custody.

Conclusions:

• Significant disparities exist in data sharing behaviors between senior and early career researchers in animal biotelemetry.
• ECRs demonstrate a higher propensity for data sharing compared to senior researchers.
• Attitudes towards data archiving and the perceived value of shared data may differ based on career stage.