Report From
National Academy of Sciences Makes Recommendations Promoting More Open
Science
“Harnessing today’s
stunning, ongoing advances in information technologies, the global
research enterprise and its stakeholders are moving toward a new open
science ecosystem.” With this description of a new reality for
scientists in mind, the National Academy of Sciences has developed the
concept of “Open Science By Design”.
Framework
The framework is defined as a set of principles and
practices that fosters openness throughout the entire research life
cycle with the overarching principle being that research conducted
openly and transparently leads to better science. The assumption is
made, according to the report, that “all phases of the research
process provide opportunities for assessing and improving the
reliability and efficacy of scientific research.”
Steps for Researchers
Open Science by Design is further described in the
report as comprising the following steps for researchers to take.
·
Provocation:
explore or mine open research resources and use open tools to network
with colleagues.
·
Ideation:
develop and revise research plans and prepare to share research
results and tools under FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible,
Interoperable, Reusable).
·
Knowledge
generation:
collect data, conduct research using tools compatible with open
sharing, and use automated workflow tools to ensure accessibility of
research outputs.
·
Validation:
prepare data and tools for reproducibility and reuse and participate
in replication studies.
·
Dissemination:
use appropriate licenses for sharing research outputs and report all
results and supporting information (data, code, articles, etc.).
·
Preservation:
deposit research outputs in FAIR archives and ensure long-term access
to research results.
Benefits
The report promotes
the concept of Open Science by noting several benefits and expecting
that these will continue to expand going forward. The benefits of Open
Science are considered to include:
1) Strengthening rigor
and reliability
2) Increased ability to address new
questions
3) Faster and more
inclusive dissemination of knowledge
4) Broader
participation in research
5) More effective use
of resources
6) Improved
performance of research tasks
7) More public
benefit, including faster utilization of findings
Barriers
The report
acknowledges that science today is not completely open and that
sharing data is not routine across all disciplines. The barriers to
fuller implementation of the Open Science vision include costs,
missing institutional infrastructure, the current structure of how
scholarly communications are disseminated, a non-supportive culture
that exists now, proprietary concerns, the need for privacy and
security protections, differences in how disciplines view sharing, the
large size of some datasets, and the need for safeguards against
misuse or misrepresentation of data.
To access the full NAS report, visit:
https://bit.ly/2O0Jhec ■
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