This (very valid) point reminds me of a related question I have about the confidentiality of data. A short (I hope) thread. /1 https://twitter.com/simoncolumbus/status/1263741877284716544

I am fairly skeptical of many of the claims that it is impossible to produce an anonymised version of a data set. I think that many researchers hide behind this to avoid sharing. But OK, there are such cases and this isn't my point here. /2

I'm specifically concerned about the reluctance of authors to share their data with a single professional colleague, whether that person is a pre-publication reviewer or a post-publication reader in the field. (Those two cases might differ slightly but not by much.) /3

I think we need a standard for sharing that says that in the absence of truly extraordinary constraints, it ought to be the norm for a lab to be able to share their data with individual, suitably-qualified colleagues from outside that lab. /4

The vast majority of data, even data that could be considered sensitive for the subjects, does not require individual vetting of the investigators (criminal background check, national security clearance) for collection. You just need to be a sincere scientist. /5

If you won't share your data with me as a reviewer, but you acknowledge that I'm qualified to work in your lab, potentially on the same study, then something is not right. /6

Medical professionals work on the basis that if they share information about a patient with a colleague, the colleague will treat that information appropriately. I don't think that's too much to expect from one's fellow scholars. /7

A particular annoyance here is researchers who think that they are being "super-ethical" when they tell their participants that "nobody outside our team will ever see your results". That's actually super-unethical because it means nobody will ever detect your mistakes. /8

Bottom line: Even if we can't make a lot more data public (...), we ought to be able to share the vast majority of our data with our colleagues, not least because most of the people collecting the data aren't all that special either. /9

Apologies that the thread turned out longer than I thought. /10 /end