It's vital that the internet be leveraged between universities within the same country and especially across countries to ensure research data is widely available. Many university libraries are making research papers and thesis work accessible online. In my shoes, as a research analyst from Northeastern University, I often find myself wading through conference proceedings and joint research papers after the fact or event has happened in order to gain insight into the advancements or work presented there.
Being able to take advantage of such online document sharing facilities such as Google docs, Dropbox, and other data which is access controlled is invaluable in delving into research work before it is formally and oficially presented at a conference or symposium. This way, I can stay abreast of developments in my particular fileld as they happen. I can recall the days when I had to travel between university libraries, spend countless hours manually sifting through research sections and wear through several of my Munro shoes to access critical research data. That was not so long ago. In this more flat internet-based academic world, I can now dig through the same volume of research through my laptop in my office ten times quicker than even 3 years ago.
So, I only hope this trend towards online accessibility and sharing of vital research data continue along the same...
