Open and trustworthy scientific information infrastructures are essential to digital science communication. They provide access to publications, research data and other research information resources and increasingly support the entire research and publication process. At the same time, the use of such infrastructures itself generates extensive data on research and communication processes.

As a result, the collection, linking and analysis of these digital traces of use – often referred to as data tracking – is becoming increasingly important. The DFG recognised this development at an early stage and is actively helping to shape the debate together with academic libraries, researchers, research institutions and other partners. The focus is on issues of transparency, data protection, research autonomy and digital sovereignty. The aim is to strengthen trust in scientific information infrastructures and ensure that they are designed in accordance with the values of open and responsible research.

Data Tracking as a DFG Topic

Digitalisation is fundamentally changing the provision of research information. Academic publishers and other information providers no longer simply make publications available; they increasingly offer platforms, analytical tools and other digital services that support the entire research cycle. This generates usage data that can provide valuable insights into research and communication processes. At the same time, this development raises questions about who collects this data, how it is processed, what it is used for and how transparency and research autonomy can be ensured. 

The DFG recognised early on that this process is significant in terms of research policy. Key impetus was provided by the Committee on Scientific Library Services and Information Systems (AWBI), which examined the impact of the digitalisation of scientific information infrastructures on transparency, research autonomy and data protection. With its 2021 information paper Data tracking in research: aggregation and use or sale of usage data by academic publishers, the AWBI initiated a research policy debate on data tracking, thereby raising awareness of the impact of the digitalisation of scientific information infrastructures.

Data tracking is not merely a matter of data protection. It concerns fundamental aspects of the design of trustworthy scientific information infrastructures and hence the conditions under which research is communicated in the digital age. Key issues include transparency in data collection, researchers’ informational self-determination, the responsible handling of research-related usage data and the digital sovereignty of research institutions. AWBI information paper: Data tracking in research (2021) (German(Download) I  English(Download))

Data Tracking in the DEAL Negotiations

The AWBI’s recommendations were taken up in connection with the project DEAL(externer Link). In the negotiations with major academic publishers, data protection and data tracking issues were systematically incorporated into nationwide open access transformative agreements for the first time, while a joint AWBI and DEAL expert group supported the negotiations and developed recommendations for drafting the agreements.

One important outcome was the inclusion of a separate section on data protection and data tracking (“data privacy”) in the DEAL agreements. This was the first time that requirements concerning transparency and the handling of research-related usage data had been explicitly incorporated into nationwide transformative agreements. Although the agreed provisions do not resolve all the challenges from the research community’s perspective, they did establish an important precedent for future licensing and contractual negotiations. The negotiations also attracted international interest and demonstrated that data tracking and digital sovereignty are increasingly regarded as research policy considerations in the drafting of agreements. 

Building on these agreements, workshops were held with the academic publishers participating in DEAL. The aim was to discuss data protection and data tracking at the operational level and create transparency regarding specific tracking practices and data-processing procedures. The workshops demonstrated that data protection and transparency cannot be addressed solely through contractual provisions but require ongoing dialogue on how scientific information infrastructures – including platforms and services operated by publishers and other information providers – can be designed in accordance with the research community’s requirements and values.  

• Altschaffel et al. (2024): Data tracking and DEAL – On the 2022/2023 negotiations and the consequences for academic libraries (German(externer Link) I  English(externer Link))
• Presentation from the “Science Tracking” webinar held by the DFG Ad Hoc Working Group on Data Tracking in Research (11 March 2024) – in German only(externer Link)

Data Tracking, Artificial Intelligence and Open Access

Given the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI), the provenance, quality and use of research data are becoming even more important. AI systems can analyse large volumes of usage data and use it to develop new services or research analyses. This makes it all the more important to ensure transparency regarding which data is used, the conditions under which it was collected and how AI-supported results are produced.

Trust in AI therefore requires trust in the underlying data and in the digital information infrastructures used to process them. Transparency and traceability are essential requirements for the responsible use of data-driven technologies in research. 

This also raises new questions for open access. Alongside open access to research publications, increasing attention is being paid to the responsible handling of the data generated through the use of such publications. Open science therefore encompasses not only free access to knowledge but also transparent and trustworthy conditions for its use in digital environments.

Open Access Network Blog: DFG Perspectives on the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Research Practice, Part III: Data Tracking and Artificial Intelligence(externer Link)

Current Activities

The DFG continues to address the research policy issues surrounding data tracking. Together with partners in the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany, it is currently developing recommendations for dealing with data tracking in academic libraries and in licensing and contractual negotiations. The aim is to help research institutions take account of data protection, transparency and ethical requirements when designing digital information infrastructures and to further underpin the responsible handling of research-related usage data.

 

Data Tracking – A Brief Explanation

Data tracking is the collection, linking and analysis of data generated through the use of digital information services. In a research context, this data may include such things as search queries, downloads and other interactions with publication and information platforms. Data tracking becomes particularly problematic when usage data from different services are combined, processed further by third parties or linked to other datasets. As a result, data can enter extensive digital data ecosystems and be used to create user profiles that researchers can neither scrutinise nor control. 

The research policy debate focuses particularly on issues concerning

• transparency in the collection and use of research-related data,
• researchers’ informational self-determination,
• confidentiality and freedom in research,
• the digital sovereignty of research institutions and
• trust in digital scientific information infrastructures.

Trustworthy digital information infrastructures are essential to open and effective research. If researchers are to use these infrastructures autonomously, transparency, data protection and the responsible handling of research-related usage data must be just as firmly established as free access to research findings.

The DFG will therefore continue to work with its partners to ensure that usage data is handled and data-driven technologies are used in accordance with the values of open, responsible and scholar-led science communication.