Estimating social bias in data sharing behaviours: an open science experiment.

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Scientific Communication
• Research Ethics

Background:

• Open data sharing is crucial for scientific advancement and reproducibility.
• Despite commitments, many researchers do not share their scientific data.
• Potential biases in data sharing can impede scientific progress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential ethnic, gender, and status-related biases in scientists' willingness to share data.
• To assess the impact of requestor's perceived ethnicity on data sharing willingness.
• To examine how gender interacts with ethnicity in influencing data sharing.

Main Methods:

• A preregistered, randomized audit experiment involving 1,634 authors.
• Data requests were sent to authors whose papers indicated data availability upon request.
• Analysis compared response and sharing rates across different requestor profiles.

Main Results:

• Overall, 54% of authors responded, and 14% shared or agreed to share data.
• Lower response rates were observed for requests attributed to Chinese versus Anglo-Saxon names.
• Evidence suggested lower responsiveness and data-sharing willingness towards male requestors with Chinese names, but not female requestors.

Conclusions:

• While preregistered hypotheses on bias were not confirmed, systematic disparities in data sharing were observed based on perceived ethnicity.
• Stereotypic beliefs about male Chinese requestors may underlie reduced responsiveness and data-sharing willingness.
• These biases create barriers to the free circulation of knowledge and impede scientific progress.