Data reusers’ trust development.

Abstract

Data reuse refers to the secondary use of data—not for its original purpose but for studying new problems. Although reusing data might not yet be the norm in every discipline, the benefits of reusing shared data have been asserted by a number of researchers, and data reuse has been a major concern in many disciplines. Assessing data for trustworthiness becomes important in data reuse with the growth in data creation because of the lack of standards for ensuring data quality and potential harm from using poor-quality data. This research explores many facets of data reusers’ trust in data generated by other researchers focusing on the trust judgment process with influential factors that determine reusers’ trust. The author took an interpretive qualitative approach by using in-depth semistructured interviews as the primary research method. The study results suggest different stages of trust development associated with the process of data reuse. Data reusers’ trust may remain the same throughout their experiences, but it can also be formed, lost, declined, and recovered during their data reuse experiences. These various stages reflect the dynamic nature of trust.