Research data management and sharing among researchers in Arab universities: An exploratory study

Abstract

This study investigates researchers’ current practices for managing and sharing research data. An online survey was conducted among researchers from three Arab universities in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. In total, 337 participants filled out the questionnaire. The study shows that 97% of researchers were responsible for their research data, and 64.4% of researchers shared their data. Contributing to scientific progress and increasing research citations and visibility were the key factors that motivated researchers to share data. However, confidentiality and data misuse were the main concerns among those who were reluctant to share. Finally, some recommendations regarding the improvement of data management and sharing practices are presented.