Our new theory deals with the mandates of industry and institutions and their impact on researchers. Our framing accounts for the under-sharing of data by researchers in open institutional repositories. For me, as always, this starts with Marx, but connects to other more contemporary theories of social relationships and capital. We made the article OA thanks to institutional funding from SIUE and MU to get the theory in front of as many eyes as possible. I think this has implications for institutional mandates in general, as well as how we structure incentives for researchers. Here’s the abstract:
Despite their professed enthusiasm for open science, faculty researchers have been documented as not freely sharing their data; instead, if sharing data at all, they take a minimal approach. A robust research agenda in LIS has documented the data under-sharing practices in which they engage, and the motivations they profess. Using theoretical frameworks from sociology to complement research in LIS, this article examines the broader context in which researchers are situated, theorizing the social relational dynamics in academia that influence faculty decisions and practices relating to data sharing. We advance a theory that suggests that the academy has entered a period of transition, and faculty resistance to data sharing through foot-dragging is one response to shifting power dynamics. If the theory is borne out empirically, proponents of open access will need to find a way to encourage open academic research practices without undermining the social value of academic researchers.
Joe Kohlburn 