There exists a problem for researchers involved with restricted-access data.
Suppose that the owner of a database (not me) has invested a large amount
of money to build it, and s/he, therefore, wants to maintain control of how
the database is used. In particular, s/he does not want the world to have
unrestricted access to it. This creates a problem for me, for if I publish
a paper based on this database, and am asked by people in the research
community for copies of the database in order for them to verify my
published results, I will have to refuse. But this refusal would place me
in a very embarrassing position, and it could considerably reduce the value
of my research.
This is not a hypothetical scenario. I have been presented with the
opportunity to analyze such a database; therefore, I would welcome any
suggestions from those who have been confronted with a similar situation.
Regards
Richard
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Richard Dybowski PhD
Research Fellow (Knowledge & Data Engineering)
King's College London
Medical Informatics Laboratory (Department of Medicine)
4th Floor
North Wing
St Thomas' Hospital
Lambeth Palace Road
London SE1 7EH
UK
Tel (office): (0)20 7928 9292 extension 6429
Tel (mobile): 0976 250092
Fax: +44 (0)20 7928 4458
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Web site: http://www.umds.ac.uk/microbio/richard/richard.htm
{Note: Currently using e-mail address [log in to unmask] whilst link to
Internet is being established in my new office at St Thomas' Hospital}
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