The State of Open Data

Global attitudes towards open data

The State of Open Data is a global survey providing insights into researchers’ attitudes towards and experiences of open data. Now in its ninth year, we are delighted to once again partner with Digital Science and Figshare on the longest running survey and analysis on open data.

The 2024 special report will be published in December 2024 and will take an in depth look into what is driving good data sharing practices globally.  Register here to be notified upon publication.

The 2023 white paper provides valuable insights based on 6,091 survey responses, and also offers some recommendations on actions that need to be taken to better support the research community as it moves towards an open data future.

Special Report 2024 - What's it all about?

Ahead of the publication of the report, Mark Hahnel, Figshare’s founder and VP Open Research at Digital Science, and Graham Smith, Open Data Programme Manager at Springer Nature, sat down to discuss why this investigation into open research practices is important in building a more equitable research ecosystem.

Why is this investigation into open research practices important?

What's the purpose of the report?

What's new about the 2024 State of Open Data report?

What are your hopes for how the findings might help create a more open research ecosystem?

How can we bridge policy and practice in data sharing?

2024 survey data

Anonymised raw data and questionnaire for the 2024 State of Open Data survey developed between Springer Nature, Figshare and Digital Science. 

State of Open Data 2024 dataset

Key findings from The State of Open Data 2023 white paper

P_State of open data 2023 © Springer Nature 2023The 2023 survey showed that the key motivations for researchers to share their data remain very similar to previous years, with full citation of research papers or a data citation ranking highly. 89% of respondents also said they make their data available publicly, however almost three quarters of respondents had never received support with planning, managing or sharing research data.

One size does not fit all

Variations in responses from different areas of expertise and geographies highlight a need for a more nuanced approach to research data management support globally. For example, 64% of respondents supported the idea of a national mandate for making research data openly available, with Indian and German respondents more likely to support this idea (both 71%).

Credit is an ongoing issue

For eight years running, our survey has revealed a recurring concern among researchers: the perception that they don't receive sufficient recognition for openly sharing their data. 60% of respondents said they receive too little credit for sharing their data.

AI awareness hasn’t translated to action

For the first time, this year we asked survey respondents to indicate if they were using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for data collection, data processing and metadata collection. The most common response to all three questions was ‘I’m aware of these tools but haven’t considered it.’

Supplementary reports based on the 2023 survey

From theory to practice: Case studies & commentary from libraries, publishers, funders and industry

For the first time in the history of The State of Open Data comes a supplementary report that expands upon the results of our years of surveys. "From theory to practice" provides real-life perspectives from various research community members on open research data sharing, enhancing the key findings and recommendations of The State of Open Data 2023.

The Global Lens: Highlighting national nuances in researchers attitudes to open data

This report by undergraduates at Kings College London looks at data collected from the State of Open Data survey over the past 8 years and takes a deep dive into the differences in responses from researchers based in different countries. The report focuses on Ethiopia, Japan and the USA to demonstrate that global trends don’t always align with national trends.

Open Data in China

2023 saw the publication of a partner report by the Computer Network Information Centre of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, looking at open data in China.

Partner report: Open Data in China

Research Data Community

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Our Research Data Community is a growing forum of advocates for the sharing of research data. It is a great place to interact with other researchers, read the latest information on research data and help advance data sharing practices.


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Research data support

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Springer Nature is committed to supporting researchers in sharing research data and in receiving the credit you deserve. Find out about how we can help you to make sharing your research data faster, easier and more impactful.


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