Making Policies for Open Data: Experiencing the Technological Imperative in the Policy World

Sally Wyatt*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalEditorialAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This short commentary reflects on policy making for open data. The articles in this special issue all raise interesting challenges and questions for research policy, broadly defined, including how to stimulate researchers to make data open in the first place, how to reuse data sensibly, and how to ensure data are appropriately stored and made accessible for future users. This commentary reflects on the author's own experience of taking part in an international policy forum that was tasked with preparing a report about the importance of making research data open. The author describes how she attempted to ensure insights from science and technology studies-made by contributors to this special issue and many others in the field-were incorporated in the final report. She also describes how technologically determinist arguments were invoked to close down discussions about the political dimensions of open access to research data.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)320-324
Number of pages5
JournalScience Technology & Human Values
Volume42
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2017

Keywords

  • open access
  • research data
  • technological determinism
  • Science International
  • policy making

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