Data sharing in sociology journals

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 709-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Zenk-Möltgen ◽  
Greta Lepthien

Purpose – Data sharing is key for replication and re-use in empirical research. Scientific journals can play a central role by establishing data policies and providing technologies. The purpose of this paper is to analyses the factors which influence data sharing by investigating journal data policies and the behaviour of authors in sociology. Design/methodology/approach – The web sites of 140 sociology journals were consulted to check their data policy. The results are compared with similar studies from political science and economics. A broad selection of articles published in five selected journals over a period of two years are examined to determine whether authors really cite and share their data and the factors which are related to this. Findings – Although only a few sociology journals have explicit data policies, most journals make reference to a common policy supplied by their association of publishers. Among the journals selected, relatively few articles provide data citations and even fewer make data available – this is true both for journals with and without a data policy. But authors writing for journals with higher impact factors and with data policies are more likely to cite data and to make it really accessible. Originality/value – No study of journal data policies has been undertaken to date for the domain of sociology. A comparison of authors’ behaviours regarding data availability, data citation, and data accessibility for journals with or without a data policy provides useful information about the factors which improve data sharing.

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 1053-1073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Zenk-Möltgen ◽  
Esra Akdeniz ◽  
Alexia Katsanidou ◽  
Verena Naßhoven ◽  
Ebru Balaban

Purpose Open data and data sharing should improve transparency of research. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different institutional and individual factors affect the data sharing behavior of authors of research articles in sociology and political science. Design/methodology/approach Desktop research analyzed attributes of sociology and political science journals (n=262) from their websites. A second data set of articles (n=1,011; published 2012-2014) was derived from ten of the main journals (five from each discipline) and stated data sharing was examined. A survey of the authors used the Theory of Planned Behavior to examine motivations, behavioral control, and perceived norms for sharing data. Statistical tests (Spearman’s ρ, χ2) examined correlations and associations. Findings Although many journals have a data policy for their authors (78 percent in sociology, 44 percent in political science), only around half of the empirical articles stated that the data were available, and for only 37 percent of the articles could the data be accessed. Journals with higher impact factors, those with a stated data policy, and younger journals were more likely to offer data availability. Of the authors surveyed, 446 responded (44 percent). Statistical analysis indicated that authors’ attitudes, reported past behavior, social norms, and perceived behavioral control affected their intentions to share data. Research limitations/implications Less than 50 percent of the authors contacted provided responses to the survey. Results indicate that data sharing would improve if journals had explicit data sharing policies but authors also need support from other institutions (their universities, funding councils, and professional associations) to improve data management skills and infrastructures. Originality/value This paper builds on previous similar research in sociology and political science and explains some of the barriers to data sharing in social sciences by combining journal policies, published articles, and authors’ responses to a survey.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 382-429
Author(s):  
Devrimi Kaya ◽  
Andreas Seebeck

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the cross-country determinants of the extent of firm information disseminated via company register (CR) websites. Design/methodology/approach The authors develop an index model (CR score) designed to capture the extent of regulated firm information disseminated via CR websites. The proposed index is applied to a unique sample of 137 countries. Following prior literature, the proposed index covers three dimensions: data availability, data accessibility and data serviceability. The index composition and the URLs of the CR websites are provided as an exhibit to this paper. Findings Across a variety of tests and sample compositions, the authors find consistent evidence that countries with a relatively high level of internet penetration, those that facilitate cross-border trading and those with higher governance quality show higher CR scores. The results are generally in line with theories of regulation. Practical implications The results of this paper speak directly to the current regulatory initiatives which aim to foster information acquisition and processing via company registers. Originality/value The authors provide early empirical evidence on the cross-country variation of dissemination of firm information via CR websites for a unique sample of 137 countries. Investors, analysts and other users of financial statements should be aware of the underlying factors that influence the extent and accessibility of firm information.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Elis Hardwicke ◽  
Maya B Mathur ◽  
Kyle Earl MacDonald ◽  
Gustav Nilsonne ◽  
George Christopher Banks ◽  
...  

Access to data is a critical feature of an efficient, progressive, and ultimately self-correcting scientific ecosystem. But the extent to which in-principle benefits of data sharing are realized in practice is unclear. Crucially, it is largely unknown whether published findings can be reproduced by repeating reported analyses upon shared data (“analytic reproducibility”). To investigate, we conducted an observational evaluation of a mandatory open data policy introduced at the journal Cognition. Interrupted time-series analyses indicated a substantial post-policy increase in data available statements (104/417, 25% pre-policy to 136/174, 78% post-policy), although not all data appeared reusable (23/104, 22% pre-policy to 85/136, 62%, post-policy). For 35 of the articles determined to have reusable data, we attempted to reproduce 1324 target values. Ultimately, 64 values could not be reproduced within a 10% margin of error. For 22 articles all target values were reproduced, but 11 of these required author assistance. For 13 articles at least one value could not be reproduced despite author assistance. Importantly there were no clear indications that original conclusions were seriously impacted. Mandatory open data policies can increase the frequency and quality of data sharing. However, suboptimal data curation, unclear analysis specification, and reporting errors can impede analytic reproducibility, undermining the utility of data sharing and the credibility of scientific findings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 180448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom E. Hardwicke ◽  
Maya B. Mathur ◽  
Kyle MacDonald ◽  
Gustav Nilsonne ◽  
George C. Banks ◽  
...  

Access to data is a critical feature of an efficient, progressive and ultimately self-correcting scientific ecosystem. But the extent to which in-principle benefits of data sharing are realized in practice is unclear. Crucially, it is largely unknown whether published findings can be reproduced by repeating reported analyses upon shared data (‘analytic reproducibility’). To investigate this, we conducted an observational evaluation of a mandatory open data policy introduced at the journal Cognition . Interrupted time-series analyses indicated a substantial post-policy increase in data available statements (104/417, 25% pre-policy to 136/174, 78% post-policy), although not all data appeared reusable (23/104, 22% pre-policy to 85/136, 62%, post-policy). For 35 of the articles determined to have reusable data, we attempted to reproduce 1324 target values. Ultimately, 64 values could not be reproduced within a 10% margin of error. For 22 articles all target values were reproduced, but 11 of these required author assistance. For 13 articles at least one value could not be reproduced despite author assistance. Importantly, there were no clear indications that original conclusions were seriously impacted. Mandatory open data policies can increase the frequency and quality of data sharing. However, suboptimal data curation, unclear analysis specification and reporting errors can impede analytic reproducibility, undermining the utility of data sharing and the credibility of scientific findings.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Si ◽  
Yueting Li ◽  
Xiaozhe Zhuang ◽  
Wenming Xing ◽  
Xiaoqin Hua ◽  
...  

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conduct performance evaluation of eight main scientific data sharing platforms in China and find existing problems, thus providing reference for maximizing the value of scientific data and enhancing scientific research efficiency. Design/methodology/approach – First, the authors built an evaluation indicator system for the performance of scientific data sharing platforms. Next, the analytic hierarchy process was employed to set indicator weights. Then, the authors use experts grading method to give scored for each indicator and calculated the scoring results of the scientific data sharing platform performance evaluation. Finally, an analysis of the results was conducted. Findings – The performance evaluation of eight platforms is arranged by descending order by the value of F: the Data Sharing Infrastructure of Earth System Science (76.962), the Basic Science Data Sharing Center (76.595), the National Scientific Data Sharing Platform for Population and Health (71.577), the China Earthquake Data Center (66.296), the China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System (65.159), the National Agricultural Scientific Data Sharing Center (55.068), the Chinese Forestry Science Data Center (56.894) and the National Scientific Data Sharing & Service Network on Material Environmental Corrosion (Aging) (52.528). And some existing shortcomings such as the relevant policies and regulation, standards of data description and organization, data availability and the services should be improved. Originality/value – This paper is mainly discussing about the performance evaluation system covering operation management, data resource, platform function, service efficiency and influence of eight scientific data sharing centers and made comparative analysis. It reflected the reality development of scientific data sharing in China.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-194
Author(s):  
Mahdi Zahedi Nooghabi ◽  
Akram Fathian Dastgerdi

Purpose – One of the most important categories in linked open data (LOD) quality models is “data accessibility.” The purpose of this paper is to propose some metrics and indicators for assessing data accessibility in LOD and the semantic web context. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, at first the authors consider some data quality and LOD quality models to review proposed subcategories for data accessibility dimension in related texts. Then, based on goal question metric (GQM) approach, the authors specify the project goals, main issues and some questions. Finally, the authors propose some metrics for assessing the data accessibility in the context of the semantic web. Findings – Based on GQM approach, the authors determined three main issues for data accessibility, including data availability, data performance, and data security policy. Then the authors created four main questions related to these issues. As a conclusion, the authors proposed 27 metrics for measuring these questions. Originality/value – Nowadays, one of the main challenges regarding data quality is the lack of agreement on widespread quality metrics and practical instruments for evaluating quality. Accessibility is an important aspect of data quality. However, few researches have been done to provide metrics and indicators for assessing data accessibility in the context of the semantic web. So, in this research, the authors consider the data accessibility dimension and propose a comparatively comprehensive set of metrics.


Author(s):  
Petar Halachev ◽  
Aleksandra Todeva ◽  
Gergana Georgieva ◽  
Marina Jekova

he report explores and analyzes the application of the most popular programming languages from different organizations: GitHub; Stackoverflow; the TIOBE's Community index. The main client technologies: HTML; CSS; JavaScript; Typescript are presented and analysed. Features are characterized and the advantages and the disadvantages of the server technologies are described: Java; PHP; Python; Ruby. The application areas for web site development technologies have been defined. The creation of a quality web site is a complex and complicated process, but by observing some guidelines and recommendations in the work process can help to select the tools and the technologies in its design and development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darush Yazdanfar ◽  
Peter Öhman

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically investigate determinants of financial distress among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the global financial crisis and post-crisis periods.Design/methodology/approachSeveral statistical methods, including multiple binary logistic regression, were used to analyse a longitudinal cross-sectional panel data set of 3,865 Swedish SMEs operating in five industries over the 2008–2015 period.FindingsThe results suggest that financial distress is influenced by macroeconomic conditions (i.e. the global financial crisis) and, in particular, by various firm-specific characteristics (i.e. performance, financial leverage and financial distress in previous year). However, firm size and industry affiliation have no significant relationship with financial distress.Research limitationsDue to data availability, this study is limited to a sample of Swedish SMEs in five industries covering eight years. Further research could examine the generalizability of these findings by investigating other firms operating in other industries and other countries.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine determinants of financial distress among SMEs operating in Sweden using data from a large-scale longitudinal cross-sectional database.


Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 1083-1102
Author(s):  
Georgios N. Aretoulis ◽  
Jason Papathanasiou ◽  
Fani Antoniou

Purpose This paper aims to rank and identify the most efficient project managers (PMs) based on personality traits, using Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) methodology. Design/methodology/approach The proposed methodology relies on the five personality traits. These were used as the selection criteria. A questionnaire survey among 82 experienced engineers was used to estimate the required weights per personality trait. A second two-part questionnaire survey aimed at recording the PMs profile and assess the performance of personality traits per PM. PMs with the most years of experience are selected to be ranked through Visual PROMETHEE. Findings The findings suggest that a competent PM is the one that scores low on the “Neuroticism” trait and high especially on the “Conscientiousness” trait. Research limitations/implications The research applied a psychometric test specifically designed for Greek people. Furthermore, the proposed methodology is based on the personality characteristics to rank the PMs and does not consider the technical skills. Furthermore, the type of project is not considered in the process of ranking PMs. Practical implications The findings could contribute in the selection of the best PM that maximizes the project team’s performance. Social implications Improved project team communication and collaboration leading to improved project performance through better communication and collaboration. This is an additional benefit for the society, especially in the delivery of public infrastructure projects. A lot of public infrastructure projects deviate largely as far as cost and schedule is concerned and this is an additional burden for public and society. Proper project management through efficient PMs would save people’s money and time. Originality/value Identification of the best PMbased on a combination of multicriteria decision-making and psychometric tests, which focus on personality traits.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan D Spigelman ◽  
Shane Rendalls

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to overview, background and context to clinical governance in Australia, areas for further development and potential learnings for other jurisdictions. Design/methodology/approach – Commentary; non-systematic review of clinical governance literature; review of web sites for national, state and territory health departments, quality and safety organisations, and clinical colleges in Australia. Findings – Clinical governance in Australia shows variation across jurisdictions, reflective of a fragmented health system with responsibility for funding, policy and service provision being divided between levels of government and across service streams. The mechanisms in place to protect and engage with consumers thus varies according to where one lives. Information on quality and safety outcomes also varies; is difficult to find and often does not drill down to a service level useful for informing consumer treatment decisions. Organisational stability was identified as a key success factor in realising and maintaining the cultural shift to deliver ongoing quality. Research limitations/implications – Comparison of quality indicators with clinical governance systems and processes at a hospital level will provide a more detailed understanding of components most influencing quality outcomes. Practical implications – The information reported will assist health service providers to improve information and processes to engage with consumers and build further transparency and accountability. Originality/value – In this paper the authors have included an in depth profile of the background and context for the current state of clinical governance in Australia. The authors expect the detail provided will be of use to the international reader unfamiliar with the nuances of the Australian Healthcare System. Other studies (e.g. Russell and Dawda, 2013; Phillips et al., n.d.) have been based on deep professional understanding of clinical governance in appraising and reporting on initaitives and structures. This review has utilised resources available to an informed consumer seeking to understand the quality and safety of health services.


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