The Privatization Of Scientific Resources: Norms, Rewards and Community Context

• In Event: 3165 - Sociology of Science: Facing the Epistemic Crisis

Abstract

Openness is a fundamental scientific norm, prescribing unconditional sharing of scientific resources and information, and previous studies indeed only infrequently observed norm violations in the form of secrecy and withholding. This study further investigates operations of sharing, particularly contrasting transactions conditioned on private rewards (direct exchange) and transactions without any reward (generalized exchange), drawing on a survey sample of 1,225 academics in all disciplines in Germany, Japan, and the UK. Results find that generalized exchange is not as common as the norm suggests, and that the majority of sharing is conditioned on private rewards such as coauthorship and reciprocal sharing. While the choice between generalized and direct exchange depends on various factors, a temporal trend analysis suggests that a contextual change whereby the scientific community favors commercialization provides a compelling explanation for the increases in direct exchange. Recent policy recommendations for openness appear to contribute to facilitate sharing in the public space, potentially restoring generalized exchange, but results suggest that particularly younger academics only partially follow the recommendations to gain private rewards. These results imply a general normative shift toward the privatization of science.

Authors

• Sotaro Shibayama, The University of Tokyo

• Cornelia Lawson, University of Bath