Surveying the landscape of CIHR-funded research data sharing practices: An analysis of the published literature

Background:As Canada increases requirements for research data management (RDM) and sharing, there is value in identifying how research data are shared, and what has been done to make them findable and reusable. This study aims to understand Canada’s data sharing landscape by reviewing how Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded data are shared, and comparing researchers’ data sharing practices to RDM and sharing best practices. Methods:We performed a descriptive analysis of CIHR-funded publications from PubMed and PubMed Central that were published between 1946 and Dec 31, 2019 and that indicated the research data underlying the results of the publication were shared. Each publication was analyzed to identify how and where data were shared, who shared data, and what documentation was included to support data reuse.Results:Of 4,144 CIHR-funded publications, 45.2% (n=1,876) included accessible data, 21.9% (n=909) stated data were available by request, 7.3% (n=304) stated data sharing was not applicable/possible, and we found no evidence of data sharing in 37.6% (n=1,558) of publications. Frequent data sharing methods included via a repository (n=1,549, 37.3%), within supplementary files (n=1,048, 25.2%), and by request (n=919, 22.1%). 13.1% (n=554) of publications included documentation that would facilitate data reuse.Interpretation:Our findings reveal that CIHR-funded publications largely lack the metadata, access instructions, and documentation to facilitate data discovery and reuse. Without measures to address these concerns, and enhanced support for researchers seeking to implement RDM and sharing best practices, most CIHR-funded research data will remain hidden, inaccessible, and unusable.