How do we measure the costs, benefits, and harms of sharing data from biomedical studies? A protocol for a scoping review

List of Authors

  1. Lauren Maxwell ,  
  2. Priya Shreedhar ,  
  3. Ankur Krishnan
Article Authors & roles Authors Peer review record Peer review Metrics
Cite

Abstract

Introduction

The benefits of sharing participant-level data, including clinical or epidemiological data, genomic data, high-dimensional imaging data, or human-derived samples, from biomedical studies have been widely touted and may be taken for granted. As investments in data sharing and reuse efforts continue to grow, understanding the cost and positive and negative effects of data sharing for research participants, the general public, individual researchers, research and development, clinical practice, and public health is of growing importance. In this scoping review, we will identify and summarize existing evidence on the positive and negative impacts and costs of data sharing and how they are measured.

Methods and analysis

Eligible studies will report on qualitative or quantitative approaches for measuring the cost of data sharing or its impact on participant privacy, individual or public health, researcher’s careers, clinical or public health practice, or research or development. The systematic search strategy uses MeSH and text terms and is tailored for Ovid Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Web of Science. We will apply the Arskey and O’Malley scoping review methodology. We selected a scoping rather than a systematic review approach to address multiple related questions and provide guidance related to an emerging field. Two reviewers will conduct the title-abstract and full-text screening and data charting independently. Discrepancies will be resolved through consensus and results will be summarized in a narrative form.

Conclusion

Research participants, investigators, regulatory groups, ethics review committees, data protection officers, and funders cannot make informed decisions or policies about data reuse without appropriate means of measuring the effects, positive or negative, and cost of data sharing.

Corresponding author
Lauren Maxwell
0000-0002-0777-2092
Grant information

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No [965313] (European Clinical Research Alliance for Infectious Diseases (ECRAID)).

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Copyright
© 2025 Lauren Maxwell (Corresponding Author, Co-Author); Priya Shreedhar (Co-Author); Ankur Krishnan (Co-Author) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

First version published
Latest version published
Revised

Amendment

The scoping review protocol was significantly revised based on reviewer feedback to enhance clarity and comprehensiveness. The research objectives were refined to explicitly define "impact" and focus on the benefits, harms, and costs of biomedical data sharing. Inclusion criteria were expanded to include high-dimensional genetic data and electronic health records, while exclusion criteria were narrowed to exclude only pathogen-focused studies without human data linkage. Research questions were reorganized into three thematic categories—benefits, harms, and costs—with distinctions between metrics and empirical evidence to streamline data collection and reporting.
The protocol now provides detailed descriptions of search strategies and includes an extensive list of grey literature sources and databases. Stakeholder consultations were elaborated, specifying involvement from groups such as the Research Data Alliance (RDA), the Coalition for Equitable Research in Low-Income Settings (CERCLE), and the GloPID-R Data Sharing Group. Additional details were included on how findings would be shared with stakeholders and the public through webinars and partner institution websites.
These revisions improve the protocol’s methodological rigour, ensuring it better aligns with scoping review practices and provides a robust framework for assessing the impacts of biomedical data sharing.

Comments

Authors & roles

Lauren Maxwell

Heidelberger Institut für Global Health, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, 69120, Germany

Roles
Corresponding Author, Co-Author, Conceptualization, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-0777-2092

Priya Shreedhar

Heidelberger Institut für Global Health, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, 69120, Germany

Roles
Co-Author, Methodology, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-1920-2636

Ankur Krishnan

Heidelberger Institut für Global Health, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, 69120, Germany

Roles
Co-Author, Methodology, Writing – Review & Editing

Downloads over the last 12 months:

Cited by

via Crossref

View citing articles