The Relationship Between the Publication of Open Research Data in Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries and Equitable Science

EasyChair Preprint no. 10952

Abstract

Some stakeholders see a direct link between the implementation of Open Science practices and equal participation in scientific knowledge and processes of knowledge production ("equitable science"), including UNESCO in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, some researchers from "low and lower income countries" (LLMIC) are skeptical of Open Science practices, although according to UNESCO they should particularly benefit from them.
This paper examines the perspective of LLMIC researchers on research data publishing and the potential impact of research data repositories. It then examines the geographic distribution of research data repositories and traditional publication infrastructures across continents and countries of different income groups.
The paper shows that the link between Open Science and equitable science presented in the SDGs does not exist in this direct form. This is because Open Science practices operate in a research system that is already characterized by inequalities, and do not necessarily eliminate them. The willingness of researchers from LLMIC to publish their research data is negatively impacted by the unequal distribution of resources, mistrust, as well as discourses that are heavily influenced by "high income countries" (HIC). On-site research data repositories cannot eliminate these problems, but they can facilitate the publication of research data. However, they are very unevenly distributed globally - this distribution follows that of traditional publication infrastructures, so is heavily concentrated in HIC and countries of the Global North.

Overall, Open Science does contribute to more participation, but in the future, in addition to making results of research processes available, the participation of researchers from LLMIC in these processes should be given more attention.

Keyphrases: equitable science, Forschungsdaten, Open Science, Publikationsinfrastrukturen, Sustainable Development Goals

@Booklet{EasyChair:10952,
  author = {Dorothea Strecker},
  title = {The Relationship Between the Publication of Open Research Data in Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries and Equitable Science},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint no. 10952},

  year = {EasyChair, 2023}}