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on Sociology of Economics |
| By: | Benedikt Fecher; Sascha Friesike; Marcel Hebing; Stephanie Linek; Armin Sauermann |
| Abstract: | Academic data sharing is a way for researchers to collaborate and thereby meet the needs of an increasingly complex research landscape. It enables researchers to verify results and to pursuit new research questions with “old” data. It is therefore not surprising that data sharing is advocated by funding agencies, journals, and researchers alike. We surveyed 2661 individual academic researchers across all disciplines on their dealings with data, their publication practices, and motives for sharing or withholding research data. The results for 1564 valid responses show that researchers across disciplines recognise the benefit of secondary research data for their own work and for scientific progress as a whole—still they only practice it in moderation. An explanation for this evidence could be an academic system that is not driven by monetary incentives, nor the desire for scientific progress, but by individual reputation—expressed in (high ranked journal) publications. We label this system a Reputation Economy. This special economy explains our findings that show that researchers have a nuanced idea how to provide adequate formal recognition for making data available to others—namely data citations. We conclude that data sharing will only be widely adopted among research professionals if sharing pays in form of reputation. Thus, policy measures that intend to foster research collaboration need to understand academia as a reputation economy. Successful measures must value intermediate products, such as research data, more highly than it is the case now. |
| Keywords: | data sharing, research policy, reputation, science, survey research |
| JEL: | C81 D02 D23 L89 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsw:rswwps:rswwps246&r=all |
| By: | Nelson Sá (Department of Economics, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York 12604, USA); Ana Paula Ribeiro (CEF.UP and FEP, Universidade do Porto, Portugal); Vitor Carvalho (CEF.UP and FEP, Universidade do Porto, Portugal) |
| Abstract: | This paper makes use of a sample of articles published between 1999 and 2013 by economists affiliated in Portuguese institutions to examine the impact of co-authorship over the quality of academic research. We build a unique database to characterize the role played by distinct affiliations and educational backgrounds on this process, while controlling for experience and individual quality levels. Mentoring relations are identified as one possible source of negative bias on the measurement of teamwork productivity, which we proxy for and quantify here for the first time. The empirical results also suggest that co-authorship across domestic institutions does not carry any significant impact on research quality, but international collaboration enhances it. A doctorate earned abroad is shown to directly improve publication outcomes, besides making it easier to establish partnerships across frontiers. These findings underscore the importance of accessing external knowledge networks in academia, offering relevant policy insights for a large number of small and less developed countries. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge Networks; Co-Authorship; Academic Productivity |
| JEL: | A11 J44 I23 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:565&r=all |