To share or not to share research data: Perspectives and practices of researchers in the digital humanities community in Thailand

Abstract

The call for open access to research data has introduced challenging changes to funding agencies, research institutions, and publishers worldwide. This has also posed challenges for the Thai scholarly community, particularly in the field of digital humanities (DH). This study explores the perspectives and practices of DH researchers on research data sharing, including the factors and barriers influencing their data sharing practices. The research employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach. The initial stage involved semi-structured interviews with 15 Thai DH researchers. The recordings were subsequently transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Following this, an online survey was distributed to Thai DH researchers nationwide. Seventy six validated responses were used for analysis. Both qualitative and quantitative data were then integrated to provide comprehensive insights. The findings indicate that most Thai DH researchers prefer to open their research output and share their knowledge rather than research data. However, Thai DH researchers recognize the significance of research data sharing. Three patterns of research data sharing among Thai DH researchers could be identified: (1) No research data sharing, (2) Research data sharing within an exclusive network, and (3) Research data sharing as academic norms. Factors influencing data sharing can be grouped into research data policies, research transparency and academic recognition, increased publication and data citation rates, positive experiences in data reuse, and academic and professional networking. Perceived risks related to academic growth and concerns on copyrights and intellectual property, ownership, and research ethics are mostly reported as barriers to research data sharing within the Thai DH community.