Construction(s) et contradictions des données de recherche en SHS

Abstract

In the last decade, political injunctions to curate and share research data have increased significantly. A survey conducted in 2017 in Rennes 2, a french Humanities and Social Sciences university, enabled us to question the habits and representations of the researchers in this matter, but also the term of “data” itself. Contrary to the idea that data are given, which is implicit in the french word “données”, the notion of “data” is far from being self-evident and actually proves to be complex and multifaceted. This article aims at showing that a triple redefinition and construction of research data is at stake in the discourses of researchers and institutional stakeholders: it operates at epistemological, intellectual and political levels. These concepts of data conflict with existing practices in the field.