Open Data, Open Science and Transparency in the time of COVID 19

William Ball

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

Abstract

A novel coronavirus now known as SARS-CoV-2 was first reported in
Wuhan, China in December 2019. It targets the respiratory system, with
a wide range of symptom severity and results in a comparatively high
level of mortality. Crucially, it has rapidly spread across the globe,
affecting people living on all the majorly populated continents.
The rapid spread, high mortality, range of severity and other unknown
factors, have resulted in huge uncertainty. This means there is an
urgent necessity to understand the characteristics of the virus and
develop strategies to reduce its impact. To make the best decisions in
this developing situation, we need information.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has
fundamentally changed the way society interacts with health data. It
has become a huge and dominating focus for both public and media
interest and now guides a large proportion of research effort. Our media
(both traditional and social) is dominated by daily updates on new
figures, visualisations and discussion.
At the same time, many academics have shifted or pivoted their work
towards studying the ongoing pandemic, as funding calls from major
sources are seeking to invest large sums of money into COVID-specific
research projects. As interest and concern have escalated, our
requirement for information to learn more and inform decision-making
has also increased. Concurrently, the production and use of Open Data
and wider Open Science practices has accelerated at an incredible rate.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4-9
Number of pages6
JournalRadical Statistics
Volume127
Publication statusPublished - 2020

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