The Attitudes of Agricultural Researchers Towards Data Sharing: Case Study of the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

The implementation of information and communication technologies in research leads to a big data flow that needs efficient management. In the context of the Open Science movement and following FAIR principles, sharing of research data became an important issue for all research disciplines. In this work we focus on data sharing in agricultural sciences due to the significance of this field for every person, every country and even for the whole humanity. The paper is focused on data produced in agricultural sciences and provides information about types of data produced, on understanding the benefits from open data, provides perception and attitude of scholars towards sharing and reusing research data. The perceptions of agricultural researchers to data sharing are generally positive, but respondents reported a number of fears including lack of time, data security and losing control over intellectual property, possible misinterpretation and misuse of data. They also mentioned the interest in library assistance and the need of training in research data management