Open science – what, how and why?
What?
Open science is commonly described as an umbrella term that refers to a number of practices that aims to increase transparency and availability of research processes and results. It also refers to the involvement of non-scientists, i.e. citizen science, in the research process. A well-established open science practice is open science publishing.
How?
There are many ways to increase openness in science. By publishing open access, you make it possible for anyone to access your publications online while also keeping copyright to your own work. Other ways of engaging with open science is to share research data, as long as there are no ethical or legal barrier for doing so. Open science also encompass sharing outputs such as code, algorithms or software. It includes engagement in open peer-review, the use author IDs such as ORCID to make visible the connection between you and your research outputs published and presented in diverse venues. Open science also encompasses open educational resources and citizen science. Open science can be done in different ways and practices vary between disciplines and fields.
Why?
Open science aims at enhancing transparency and participation in science. The urge for transparency have been expressed for many reasons in recent year. From access to data to enable replication studies to reaching out and involve society as a means of challenging the occurrence of “fake news” and distrust in science. Digital technologies have also facilitated ways of sharing and collaborating that were previously not possible. The overall goal with open science is to enhance transparency, rigour, efficiency and trust in science.
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