Motivating data contributions via a distinct career currency

Area of Science:

• Scientific research methodology
• Research data management
• Academic career progression

Background:

• Research data collection is often undervalued compared to data analysis and synthesis.
• This undervaluation can lead to delays in data sharing and a shift in researcher effort away from primary data collection.
• Slow progress in research is a consequence of poor incentives for data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel mechanism for valuing research data contributions.
• To encourage open data accessibility and incentivize primary data collection.
• To address the imbalance in academic reward systems.

Main Methods:

• Advocating for the integration of data contribution statements into job, promotion, and grant applications.
• Leveraging peer review and selection committees to assess data contributions.
• Establishing a new 'career currency' for data sharing.

Main Results:

• The proposed system allows for peer evaluation of data contributions across numerous committees and panels.
• It facilitates the emergence of fair valuation for data collection efforts relative to traditional publication metrics.
• Potential to accelerate overall research progress by incentivizing data generation and sharing.

Conclusions:

• Data contribution statements offer a practical solution to improve research data management and incentivize data collection.
• Fairly valuing data contributions can enhance scientific reproducibility and accelerate discovery.
• This approach can reshape academic reward structures to better reflect the full spectrum of research activities.