Title: Introduction to Open Science
Course: Teaching Open Science and Research Data Management for Undergraduates > Section: Module 1: Introduction to Open Science

What is Open Science?

Watch this short video (Wellcome, CC BY -licensed)^1 to get a quick overview of open science:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE7N3jgF4nU

Science is always looking ahead. It aims to discover new things, explain the world more clearly, and answer fresh questions (see Image 1). When new knowledge appears, old ideas and theories may need to change. The basic principles of science support this process, helping it move forward by constantly testing and updating what we know.^2

Image 1. The scientific method. (Patrick Hochstenbach, CC0 1.0)^3

Open Science is an umbrella term for efforts that aim to make science and research more open. The idea is that science should be open and available to everyone - not just scientists, but also people outside the research world. Open Science helps support research, encourages collaboration, and increases its impact on society.^4

Open Science means doing science in a way that lets others join in and contribute. Things like research data, lab notes, and other parts of the research process are shared openly, so they can be reused, shared, and repeated by others.^5

A key goal of Open Science is to make research outputs - like publications, methods, and data - as easy to access as possible. It also includes things like open education and open infrastructures.^4 Open Science is about making research more reliable, transparent, and repeatable. It follows values like inclusion, fairness, equality, and sharing. The aim is to change how research is done, who can take part, and how it is valued. It encourages more people to join in, check, improve, and reuse research so that everyone can benefit.^5 Openness in science is part of good scientific practice and, therefore, also part of the students’ skills.

According  to  the  UNESCO  Recommendation ^6,  the core values of Open Science are:

- quality and integrity
- collective benefit
- equity and fairness
- diversity and inclusiveness

Similarly, as principles of Open Science, the recommendation mentions:

- transparency, scrutiny, critique, and reproducibility
- equality of opportunities
- responsibility, respect, and accountability
- collaboration, participation, and inclusion
- flexibility
- sustainability^6

The European Union also stresses the importance of Open Science^7. “Open science is a policy priority for the European Commission and the standard method of working under its research and innovation funding as it improves the quality, efficiency and responsiveness of research.” This statement and more information about the EU’s view on Open Science can be found on the EU’s Open Science platform.

References

1. Wellcome. (2017). What is Open Research. YouTube, uploaded by Wellcome, 25 July 2017.CC BY.

2. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2019). Reproducibility and Replicability in Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25303

3. Hochstenbach, P. The scientific method. [Image]. Open Science Training Handbook.  https://open-science-training-handbook.github.io/Open-Science-Training-Handbook_EN/02OpenScienceBasics/04ReproducibleResearchAndDataAnalysis.html CC0 1.0 Universal. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

4. Tampere University Library. Guides: Student’s Guide to Responsible and Open Science: Open Science. https://libguides.tuni.fi/open-science-for-students/open-science Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

5. Open Science Training Handbook. Open Concepts and Principles. https://open-science-training-handbook.github.io/Open-Science-Training-Handbook_EN/02OpenScienceBasics/01OpenConceptsAndPrinciples.html CC0 1.0 Universal. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

6. UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379949.locale=en CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

7. European Commission. Open Science. Research and Innovation. https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/strategy-research-and-innovation/our-digital-future/open-science_en Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

Research lifecycle

A research lifecycle refers to the process of conducting research, from the initial planning, funding, and designing of a project to publishing and disseminating the results. Open Science is part of the entire research cycle from design, data collection, and publishing to open sharing of research outputs (see image 1).

Image 1. Open Science in the research cycle. (Finnish Open Science Online Resource, CC BY 4.0)^1

Read more:

Tampere University Library. Student's guide to responsible and open science: Open science.

Vicente-Sáez & Martínez-Fuentes, 2018: Open Science now: A systematic literature review for an integrated definition

Reproducible Research

Reproducible research means being very careful and detailed during the research process so that the same analysis can be repeated later and give the same results. Reproducibility usually means being able to duplicate the results of a study using the same materials. A related idea is replicability, which means getting the same results by following the same steps but using new data. These concepts are important because improving reproducibility helps make research more trustworthy and high-quality.^2

Read more:
Alston, J. M., & Rick, J. A. (2021). A beginner’s guide to conducting reproducible research. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 102(2), 1-14. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bes2.1801

References

1. Finnish Open Science Online Resource. Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland. What Is Open Science? Open Science in the research cycle. [Image]. https://findocnet.fi/course/view.php?id=136&section=4#tabs-tree-start. CC BY 4.0.  Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

2. Open Science Training Handbook. Reproducible Research and Data Analysis. https://open-science-training-handbook.github.io/Open-Science-Training-Handbook_EN/02OpenScienceBasics/04ReproducibleResearchAndDataAnalysis.html CC0 1.0 Universal. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

Science vs. Open Science

Openness and transparency have always been important values in science and research. But some current practices don’t fully support the goals of Open Science. For example, publishing mainly in peer-reviewed journals can help researchers’ careers, even though many people can’t access these journals. Also, research funded by public money should be available to the public.^1

Open Science aims to change the whole research culture. One of its main goals is to make research outputs as widely available as possible. This is supported by using licenses that allow open access. More broadly, openness can also mean more transparent ways of evaluating research, or involving the public in research through citizen science or collaboration with companies. The meaning of Open Science is still evolving and being discussed.^1

Read more:
Watson (2015). When will ‘Open Science’ become simply ‘science’?. doi.org/10.1186/s13059-015-0669-2

References

1. The National Open Science Coordination. (2023). “What Is Open Science?” Open Science. https://avointiede.fi/en/what-open-science CC BY 4.0. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

Historical context and development

Science progresses when knowledge can be shared openly and built together. Openness allows others to learn from earlier research and develop it further. Although education and science have often been privileges for a few, there have also been resources - like dictionaries and encyclopedias - meant for everyone. For example, the first “dictionary,” The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, dates back over 3,000 years, and libraries and museums have served as keepers of knowledge and promoters of learning for thousands of years.^1

Already in the Middle Ages, doctors were encouraged to monitor each other’s work - today this is known as peer review^2. During the Enlightenment, scientists exchanged ideas through letters, and with the invention of the printing press, scientific journals were born^3.

However, real discussion about openness in science has only emerged in recent decades, partly due to technological advances and partly due to challenges in scientific processes. Project Gutenberg began publishing books online in 1971^1. The first open access journal was published in 1987^3. In 1991, the arXiv archive for electronic preprints of scientific research was launched^4. The internet and digital tools have made broader collaboration possible.

In recent years, several problems in the scientific process have come to light that need solutions. These include the reproducibility crisis , which means that many scientific results are difficult or impossible to repeat, and publication bias , which means that it’s easier to publish findings that strongly support or reject a hypothesis^5. The serials crisis refers to the rising cost of journal subscriptions, which exceed the budgets of academic libraries and limit their ability to meet researchers’ needs.¹

Open Science aims to address these challenges by improving access to knowledge and developing better scientific practices.

References

1. Almarzouq, B., Azevedo, F., Batalha, N., Bayer, J., Bell, T., Bhogal, S., Black, M., Brown, S., Campitelli, E., Chegini, T., Dunleavy, D., Ee, Y. K., El-Gebali, S., Erdmann, C., Ferdush, J., Fouilloux, A., Hall, S. M., Kherroubi Garcia, I., Klusza, S., … Yehudi, Y. (2023, February 22). Opensciency - A core open science curriculum by and for the research community. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7662732 CC BY 4.0. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

2. Rogers, B. (2020). The value of peer review. The Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England, 103(1). https://doi.org/10.1308/rcsann.2020.0214  Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

3. Green, S. (2017). An Illustrated History of Open Science. https://www.wiley.com/en-us/network/publishing/societies/open-access/an-illustrated-history-of-open-science Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

4.  Ginsparg, P. (2021) Lessons from arXiv’s 30 years of information sharing. Nat Rev Phys, 3, 602–603 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-021-00360-z

5.  Parsons, S., Azevedo, F., Elsherif, M. M., Guay, S., Shahim, O. N., Govaart, G. H., … & Aczel, B. (2022). A Community-Sourced Glossary of Open Scholarship Terms. Nature human behaviour, 6(3), 312–318. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01269-4

Benefits of Open Science

Image 1. Benefits of Open Science. (OpenAIRE, CC BY 4.0)^1

OECD has summarized the overall arguments for supporting Open Science in the following factors^2 (see also image 1):

- Improving efficiency and productivity: Open Science reduces overlapping work and lowers the costs of producing, sharing, and using knowledge. It allows data to be reused and supports researchers in participating in large, multidisciplinary national and international projects.

- Increasing transparency: When the research process and data are open, the reproducibility and reliability of scientific results improve.

- Speeding up knowledge transfer: Open publishing and access to data reduce delays in using research results and help speed up the journey from research to innovation.

- Economic benefits: A faster innovation process supports businesses and brings both commercial and national economic advantages.

- Solving global challenges: Open Science promotes international cooperation and knowledge exchange, which is essential for understanding and solving issues like climate change or population aging.

- Engaging citizens: Open Science can raise public awareness and trust in science, and also allow people to actively take part in research and data collection.^2

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the power of Open Science, even under tragic circumstances. By mid-2021, over 85% of COVID-19-related articles were openly accessible - compared to the usual 40% for academic publications - enabling rapid scientific progress and major breakthroughs in record time.^3

Watch the video (FOSTER Open Science, CC BY)^4:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMrhrQyt5I8

References

1. OpenAIRE. What is Open Science. Benefits of Open Science. [Image]. https://www.openaire.eu/what-is-open-science CC BY 4.0. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

2. OECD (2015). Making Open Science a Reality. OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers, 25, 18–19. https://doi.org/10.1787/5jrs2f963zs1-en Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

3. UNESCO. Open science outlook 1: status and trends around the world. https://doi.org/10.54677/GIIC6829 CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

4. Foster Open Science. (2015). The Benefits of Open Science. Youtube, uploaded by Foster Open Science, 15 October 2015. CC BY.

Potential challenges of Open Science

The rationale for Open Science is clear but there are still concerns and issues to be tackled. The University of Eastern Finland Library has divided the challenges of Open Science into the following six areas:^1

"Challenge 1 - Socio-cultural:

The lack of awareness of the benefits and importance of opening up research. The reluctance to change current workflows and practices, e.g., to share data along the research process. Researchers consider this a time and effort-consuming activity to add to their existing workloads. The lack of a clear recognition and a reward system that promotes Open Science practices. In addition to researchers and research institutions, there is also a change to be made on the part of the research funders, government bodies, and other stakeholders.

Challenge 2 – Technological:

Information and communication technologies have rapidly improved but there is still work to be done to support and ease researchers’ workflows towards more open practices.

Challenge 3 – Political:

There is a clear need for political commitment to promote Open Science and integrate it into the government agendas, also at the international level. The necessary resources must be allocated in order for these policies to succeed. Commitment to policy development and strategic planning are needed both at the research institution and country level.

Challenge 4 – Organisational:

The working environment (e.g. university, research institution) can have a significant impact on how quickly and broadly research becomes open. A closed culture is a challenge for individual researchers and slows down the overall openness of research. Organisations need to develop and acquire the appropriate skills to support open science within their organisation.

Challenge 5 – Economic:

Even if one of the main arguments for Open Science is a higher efficiency of research that in the long term will result in a better use of resources and acceleration of innovations, significant investments have to be made at the beginning to develop the technical, political and organisational ecosystem for Open Science.

Challenge 6 – Legal:

Open Science changes the way we look at ownership of data, copyright, privacy, and accountability in research. Many of these changes need to be reflected in legislation and research guidelines. A clear legislation framework must be developed at the international level and researchers must be aware of this legislation."^1

References

1. UEF library. Basics of Open and Responsible Science: Open Access Publishing and Research Data. Benefits and challenges of open science. https://blogs.uef.fi/ueflibrary-bors/what-is-open-and-responsible-science/benefits-and-challenges-of-open-science/ CC BY 4.0. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

Open Science and Artificial Intelligence

On 6 June 2024, UNESCO organized an event titled Exploring Opportunities and Challenges at the Intersection of Open Science and Artificial Intelligence ^1. The objectives and challenges of the event were described as follows, which illustrates well the current relationship between AI and open science:

"While Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents rapid scientific advances, its integration must align with open science principles to ensure replicability, credibility, equity and trustworthiness. Open science offers mutual benefits for AI by expanding participation in research and promoting inclusive practices. The open science approach, when combined with AI technologies, can significantly contribute to addressing the current pressing global threats.

Associated with these opportunities are diverse challenges arising from the increased adoption of AI. These challenges such as the black-box nature of AI systems and the dominance of private companies in advancements pose significant obstacles. These include the reproducibility crisis (in which other researchers cannot replicate experiments conducted using AI tools); interdisciplinarity (where limited collaboration between AI and non-AI disciplines can lead to an inconsistent uptake of AI across science); and data challenges (while high quality data is foundational to AI applications, researchers consistently face challenges related to its volume, heterogeneity and potential for bias). There are fundamental barriers limiting the adoption of open science principles, due to the black-box nature of AI systems and the phenomenon of private companies outpacing academic institutions at AI-powered research. Furthermore, the changing incentives across the scientific ecosystem may be increasing pressure on researchers to be ‘good at AI’ rather than ‘good at science’.

Addressing these challenges requires applying open science principles to AI, particularly focusing on transparency. Overcoming cultural and economic barriers is essential to fostering a culture of open science in AI-driven scientific research."^1

Read more: https://urheber.info/media/pages/diskurs/ai-training-is-copyright-infringement/0c21a01c2c-1725521189/240905_iu_press-release_study_ai-training-copyright-infringement.pdf

References

1. UNESCO. Exploring Opportunities and Challenges at the Intersection of Open Science and Artificial Intelligence. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/exploring-opportunities-and-challenges-intersection-open-science-and-artificial-intelligence Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.