🟣Open Science

What is Open Science?

Open Science is a global movement aimed at making all aspects of the research process, including data, methods, software, publications, and peer review, transparent, accessible, and reusable for everyone. It promotes collaboration, inclusivity, and accountability by removing barriers to knowledge sharing across disciplines and borders. Grounded in principles such as Open Access, Open Data, Open Source, and Citizen Science, Open Science supports reproducibility, accelerates innovation, and increases the societal impact of research. By aligning with frameworks like the FAIR Principles and UNESCO’s Open Science recommendations, it transforms how research is conducted, evaluated, and communicated, making science more equitable and responsive to global challenges.

Category	Description / Key Components	Representative Practices / Tools	Notable Resources / Links
Definition / Concept	The movement to make scientific research, data, code, methods, and dissemination openly available, transparent, inclusive, and reusable. (UNESCO)	Emphasizing openness across the full research lifecycle; applying open licenses; promoting participation beyond academic silos	UNESCO’s Open Science webpage (UNESCO); CERN’s Open Science Elements (openscience.cern); COS (“What is Open Science?”) (Center for Open Science)
Core Pillars / Domains	The domains or “sub‑areas” that constitute Open Science	Open Access, Open Data, Open Source / Software, Open Methodology, Open Peer Review, Open Educational Resources, Citizen Science, Open Infrastructure	PLOS on Open Science (PLOS); OSF (Center for Open Science) (Center for Open Science); ZB MED / Publisso FAQ (publisso.de)
Open Access (OA)	Making research articles and publications freely accessible without paywalls or subscription barriers	Publishing in OA journals, depositing in preprint servers, using Creative Commons or open licenses	DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals (Directory of Open Access Journals); PLOS Open Science (PLOS)
Open Data / Open Research Data	Making the data underlying research openly available (with appropriate metadata, licensing, and standards)	Data deposition into trusted repositories, standardized metadata, data licensing, Data Management Plans	Clarkson University guide on Open Science & Open Data (sites.clarkson.edu); Figshare repository (Wikipedia)
Open Source / Open Software	Publishing software tools, scripts, and code under open licenses so others can reuse, inspect, and contribute	Hosting code on open repositories (e.g. GitHub, GitLab), providing open APIs, applying permissive licenses	COS / OSF tools (Center for Open Science); Open Science Tools initiative (opensciencetools.org)
Open Methodology / Protocols	Sharing the protocols, workflows, laboratory methods, and detailed procedural steps openly	Publishing protocols (e.g. via protocols.io), open lab notebooks, registered reports	Publisso guidance on open methodology & study registration (publisso.de)
Open Peer Review	Making peer review processes, reviewer reports, and commentary transparent or public	Publishing peer reviewer reports alongside articles, open commentary, post‑publication review	PLOS Open Science (PLOS)
Open Educational Resources (OER)	Freely accessible, modifiable educational materials (course modules, textbooks, tutorials)	Creating and licensing materials under open terms, sharing via OER repositories	OpenSciEd on OER (OpenSciEd)
Citizen Science / Public Engagement	Involving non‑specialists or the public in scientific research, data collection, analysis, or decision making	Crowdsourced data collection, community science projects, participatory research	World Bank Library guide on Open Science & Citizen Science (libguides.worldbank.org)
Open Infrastructure / Platforms	The technical and organizational systems that enable open science (repositories, platforms, metadata registries, governance models)	OSF, open data repositories, identity systems (ORCiD), APIs, metadata registries	Open Science Infrastructure on Wikipedia (Wikipedia); COS / OSF (Center for Open Science)
Governance, Policy & Incentives	The rules, incentives, norms, and evaluation mechanisms supporting or mandating open science	Funder open science policies, institutional mandates, researcher reward systems (credit, metrics), licensing frameworks	UNESCO Open Science policy page (UNESCO); Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Open Science programs (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative); Gomez‑Diaz & Recio political/legal framework article (arXiv)
Benefits & Motivations	Why open science matters — its value propositions	Increased reproducibility, transparency, public trust, citation advantage, research acceleration, broader impact	COS “Open research lifecycle” vision (Center for Open Science); Colavizza et al. (preprint) on citation advantage (arXiv)
Challenges & Risks	Common barriers, trade‑offs, and constraints	Intellectual property & licensing issues, privacy / human data, cost and sustainability of infrastructures, cultural resistance, quality control	Gómez‑Díaz & Recio article on legal/political challenges (arXiv)
Case / Exemplars	Examples of open science in practice or institutions leading in open science	NASA Earth Data open science model, Open Science Framework as platform, open data repositories	NASA Earthdata’s open science program (NASA Earthdata); OSF by Center for Open Science (Center for Open Science); Open Science Tools organization (opensciencetools.org)