Publish (your data) or (let the data) perish! Why not publish your data too?
Jelte M. Wicherts, Marjan Bakker
The authors argue that upon publication of a paper, the data should be made available through online archives or repositories. Reasons for not sharing data are discussed and contrasted with advantages of sharing, which include abiding by the scientific principle of openness, keeping the data for posterity, increasing one’s impact, facilitation of secondary analyses and collaborations, prevention and correction of errors, and meeting funding agencies’ increasingly stringent stipulations concerning the dissemination of data. Practicing what they preach, the authors include data as an online appendix to this editorial. These data are from a cohort of psychology freshmen who completed Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices, tests of Numerical Ability, Number Series, Hidden Figures, Vocabulary, Verbal Analogies, and Logical Reasoning, two Big Five personality in- ventories, and scales for social desirability and impression management. Student’s sex and grade point average (GPA) are also included. Data could be used to study predictive validity of cognitive ability tests, Extraversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and the general factor of personality, as well as sex differences, differential prediction, and relations between personality and intelligence.