Sociologist Jason Owen-Smith, executive director of the University of Michigan's Institute for Research on Innovation and Science (IRIS) and courtesy professor at the Ford School, testified April 15 before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. The hearing, "The State of Scientific Publishing: Assessing Trends, Emerging Issues, and Policy Considerations," examined open access policies, data access and reproducibility, and the emergence of predatory journals.
In his testimony, Owen-Smith emphasized the importance of publicly tax-funded scholarly publication, calling it a "strategic national asset" and "a treasure trove of information about research in important fields."
He warned that published results and related data are controlled by private, often foreign-owned companies, that can link and mine those data without informed consent or federal oversight.
"The idea that taxpayer-funded data about thousands of other researchers who may be working on much more sensitive or dangerous topics than I do could find its way into products that could give our national rivals a leg up in key fields is, frankly, frightening," Owen-Smith said.
He urged the committee to support proven, open, U.S.-based, publicly accountable data infrastructure platforms and tools.
"Such an infrastructure could make more effective use of resources U.S. taxpayers already pay for, increase ROI on public research investments, and address unnecessary risks to individual privacy and national security in the current landscape," Owen-Smith said.
Watch: Owen-Smith's testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight here.
Learn more about the hearing and read Owen-Smith's written testimony here.
Read the American Institute of Physics' article on the hearing.
