Journal of clinical epidemiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A data-sharing agreement helps to increase researchers' willingness to share primary data: results from a randomized controlled trial.
Sharing individual participant data (IPD) among researchers, on request, is an ethical and responsible practice. Despite numerous calls for this practice to be standard, however, research indicates that primary study authors are often unwilling to share IPD, even for use in a meta-analysis. This study sought to examine researchers' reservations about data sharing and to evaluate the impact of sending a data-sharing agreement on researchers' attitudes toward sharing IPD. ⋯ These findings shed light on data-sharing practices, attitudes, and concerns and can be used to inform future meta-analysis projects seeking to collect IPD, as well as the field at large.