Biomedical Data Sharing Among Researchers: A Study from Jordan

Abstract

Lina Al-Ebbini,1 Omar F Khabour,2 Karem H Alzoubi,3 Almuthanna K Alkaraki4 1Department of Biomedical Systems and Informatics Engineering, Hijjawi for Engineering Technology, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan; 3Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan; 4Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, JordanCorrespondence: Almuthanna K AlkarakiDepartment of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, JordanTel [phone] ext. 2833Fax [phone]Email [email protected] Al-EbbiniDepartment of Biomedical Systems and Informatics Engineering, Hijjawi for Engineering Technology, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, JordanTel [phone] ext. 4188Email [email protected]: Data sharing is an encouraged practice to support research in all fields. For that purpose, it is important to examine perceptions and concerns of researchers about biomedical data sharing, which was investigated in the current study.Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey study that was distributed among biomedical researchers in Jordan, as an example of developing countries. The study survey consisted of questions about demographics and about respondent’s attitudes toward sharing of biomedical data.Results: Among study participants, 46.9% (n=82) were positive regarding making their research data available to the public, whereas 53.1% refused the idea. The reasons for refusing to publicly share their data included “lack of regulations” (33.5%), “access to research data should be limited to the research team” (29.5%), “no place to deposit the data” (6.5%), and “lack of funding for data deposition” (6.0%). Agreement with the idea of making data available was associated with academic rank (P=0.003). Moreover, gender (P-value=0.043) and number of publications (P-value=0.005) were associated with a time frame for data sharing (ie, agreeing to share data before vs after publication).Conclusion: About half of the respondents reported a positive attitude toward biomedical data sharing. Proper regulations and facilitation data deposition can enhance data sharing in Jordan.Keywords: data sharing, responsible conduct of research, ethical issues, Jordan

Keywords

• data sharing
• responsible conduct of research
• ethical issues
• jordan