To move towards a more open science, we must free the data

Data sharing is a key principle of open science, and research funders are increasingly including this as a condition of grant awards. Despite this, Jessica Couture reports on research that found little more than a quarter of relevant research projects to be compliant. While there are valid reasons for certain data not to be made available - its sensitivity or the ease of its interpretation, for example – these findings indicate more needs to be done. A fundamental obstacle to data sharing is the absence of a professional reward structure, such as recognition that data citations are as valuable as article citations. Funders can also encourage data sharing compliance by creating dedicated data archives for funded projects and providing technological assistance to awardees.