DOI: 10.3886/icpsr29941
title: Data Sharing in the Social Sciences, 2009 [United States] Public Use Data
title: Archival Version

description: A web survey of the principal investigators of social science awards made by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 1985 and 2001 was conducted by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) from May 2009 to August 2009. The survey explored both the barriers and motivations individuals face when thinking about sharing data with others in various ways and the effects of data sharing on research in the social sciences. The principal investigator survey consisted of questions about research data collected, various methods for sharing research data, attitudes about data sharing and demographic information. Principal investigators were also asked about publications tied to the research project including information about their own publications, research team publications, and publications outside the research team. A total of 1,217 responses were received. After excluding principal investigators that did not collect primary research data and excluding principal investigators of dissertation awards, the final sample size is 1,021.
description: The purpose of this study was to better understand people's attitudes toward and experience with sharing social and/or behavioral science data with others, and the implications of this for research scholarship.
description: A survey was fielded by email on May 28, 2009 to 4,883 principal investigators of social science grants awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 1985 and 2001, with a follow-up invitation distributed June 17, 2009. 'Bounced' e-mails from the initial wave (1,632) were reviewed and, where possible (965), contacted July 9, 2009 via a new e-mail address; a follow-up e-mail was distributed July 23, 2009. Responses were accepted until August 31, 2009. Data were collected from 1,217 investigators, although the final sample is comprised of 1,021 respondents after excluding principal investigators that did not collect primary research data and principal investigators of dissertation awards.
The survey consisted of questions about research data collected, various methods for sharing research data, attitudes about data sharing and demographic information. Principal investigators were also asked about publications tied to the research project including information about their own publications, research team publications, and publications outside the research team.
description: The study contains a total of 109 variables including items about research data collected, various methods for sharing research data, attitudes about data sharing, publications resulting from the data, and demographic information. Award characteristics and administrative variables are also included.
description: None
description: Response Rates: 24.9 percent
description: Presence of Common Scales: Several Likert-type scales were used.
description: First, a database of awards from 1985 to 2001 relating to the social and behavioral sciences was constructed. The National Science Foundation (NSF) awards included in the sample came from the following organizations: Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Office of Polar Programs, and Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. These awards were downloaded from the NSF online grants database and were further restricted to awards that included descriptions of research activity that (1) related to the social and/or behavioral sciences, and (2) likely included original (or primary) data collection (including assembly of a new database from existing or archival sources). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards were downloaded from the online CRISP (Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects) database and included extramural research grant awards from the following institutes: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and National Institute on Drug Abuse. The CRISP database was previously accessible at http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/. CRISP has since been replaced by the RePORT Expenditures and Results Tool (RePORTER), although this study collected information on NIH-funded research projects using the CRISP database.
In addition to screening NIH awards for social and behavior science content, these awards were restricted to the collection of original quantitative data. This strategy differed from the NSF award review in that strictly qualitative studies were not identified as such and excluded.
From the 12,464 eligible awards, there were 4,883 unique principal investigators. All 4,883 principal investigators were invited to participate in the web survey. A total of 1,217 responses were received. After excluding principal investigators that did not collect primary research data and excluding principal investigators of dissertation awards, the final sample size is 1,021.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Data Sharing in the Social Sciences, 2009 [United States] Public Use Data
description: Principal investigators of social science grants awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 1985 and 2001. Smallest Geographic Unit: region
description: web-based surveyRestricted use and public use versions of this data collection are available. Access to DATA SHARING IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, 2009 [UNITED STATES] RESTRICTED USE DATA (ICPSR 36641) is restricted to ICPSR members and requires an application process, whereas access to DATA SHARING IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, 2009 [UNITED STATES] PUBLIC USE DATA (ICPSR 29941) is not restricted. In the public use data, some variables have been masked, recoded, or collapsed to protect respondent confidentiality. Detailed information on adjustments made by ICPSR to the public use data is available in the ICPSR Processing Notes section of the Data Sharing in the Social Sciences, 2009 [United States] Public Use Data PDF Codebook. After reviewing the public use data, researchers may determine that the restricted use data contain the specific data needed for their research purposes. In this case, researchers are encouraged to apply for access to the restricted use data using the link to the online request system in the Access Notes section of the DATA SHARING IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, 2009 [UNITED STATES] RESTRICTED USE DATA (ICPSR 36641) study description. The restricted use data (ICPSR 36641) will be released approximately two months after the release of the public use data (ICPSR 29941).