Open Access - Beyond Publishing
Discussing open access is not limited to publishing models and researchers' final peer-reviewed work. Open access includes the accompanying data and information essential to the research lifecycle. As outlined by the Open Knowledge Foundation, open access involves the "openness" of all knowledge to develop a robust commons for universal participation. Terms such as "open data," "open science," and "open source" encompass the surrounding material that are vital to researchers' work.
Open Data: Each day humanity generates 2.5 quintillion bytes of data, with 90% of the data created in the past two years (IBM, 2013). From such a rich trove comes the power to inspire data-driven decisions and real-time information. To openly access, share, and re-use data unlocks a wealth of knowledge.
Open Science: the practice of science in such a way that others can collaborate and contribute, where research data, lab notes and other research processes are freely available, under terms that enable reuse, redistribution and reproduction of the research and its underlying data and methods. (FOSTER Open Science)
Open Source: Originally open source applied to the creation of computer programs. Software code was freely available to be redistributed and modified. Today, however, "open source" designates a broader set of values. Open source projects, products, or initiatives embrace and celebrate principles of open exchange, collaborative participation, rapid prototyping, transparency, meritocracy, and community-oriented development.--www.opensource.com
- Open Science, Open Data, Open Source: 21st Century Research Skills for the Life Sciencesby Pedro L. Fernandes & Rutger A. Vos - An overview of the developments in open scientific research that covers both social developments (e.g. the culture in various communities) as well as technological ones.
Open Data
An illustration depicting the influence of open data within the global movement (click on image to expand).
- Open Research Funders GroupThe Open Research Funders Group (ORFG) is a partnership of funding organizations committed to the open sharing of research outputs. Inaugural members include the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the American Heart Association, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- Denton DeclarationOn May 22, 2012 at the University of North Texas, a group of technologists and librarians, scholars and researchers, university administrators, and other stakeholders gathered to discuss and articulate best practices and emerging trends in research data management. This declaration bridges the converging interests of these stakeholders and promotes collaboration, transparency, and accountability across organizational and disciplinary boundaries.
- Open Data HandbookThis handbook introduces you to the legal, social, and technical aspects of open data. Including guides, case studies, and resources for government and civil society on the "what, why, and how" of open data.
- Registry of Research Data Repositoriesre3data.org identifies a listing of 1,500 research data repositories, making it the largest and most comprehensive registry of data repositories available on the web.
- SPARC Open Data FactsheetFor a basic outline of open data, including what it is and why it is important.
- Caselaw Access Project (CAP)Our goal is to make all published U.S. court decisions freely available to the public online, in a consistent format, digitized from the collection of the Harvard Law Library.
- Open Data CommonsA set of legal tools to help you provide and use open data.
- Initiative for Open Citations (I4OC)The Initiative for Open Citations I4OC is a collaboration between scholarly publishers, researchers, and other interested parties to promote the unrestricted availability of scholarly citation data.
Support for Open Data from the Federal Government
- Obama Administration Releases Historic Open Data RulesA May 9, 2013 press release declaring that information is a valuable national asset whose value is multiplied when it is made easily accessible to the public.
- Open Data Policy (Executive Order)Released May 9, 2013 the policy implements new steps to make information generated and stored by the Federal Government more open and accessible to innovators and the public, to fuel entrepreneurship and economic growth while increasing government transparency and efficiency.
- DATA.govThe powerful central hub for open government data, provides services that include data visualization, mapping tools, context to help locate and understand the data, and robust Application Programming Interface (API) access for developers.
- Project Open DataThe White House developed Project Open Data – this collection of code, tools, and case studies – to help agencies adopt the Open Data Policy and unlock the potential of government data. Project Open Data will evolve over time as a community resource to facilitate broader adoption of open data practices in government. Anyone – government employees, contractors, developers, the general public – can view and contribute.
- Open Data PoliciesOpenDataPolicies.org provides the open-data policies for cities and states all over the United States on one website.
Open Science
The following talk gives a short introduction to open science, and an explanation of why it’s so important for our society.
- FOSTER Open Science toolkit10 self-paced learning modules to help you become an open science expert! Includes topics such as managing and sharing research data, open licensing, open access publishing, open peer review, and more.
- Open Science Training HandbookThis book offers guidance and resources for Open Science instructors and trainers, as well as anyone interested in improving levels of transparency and participation in research practices.
- Open Notebook ScienceOpen Notebook Science is simply the practice of making your entire research project available online as it is recorded. This online location is known as an open notebook and is the online analog to the paper notebook most scientists keep in their lab. It is the storage center for project plans, experimental protocols and setups, raw data, and even unfiltered interpretations.
- OpenWetWareOpenWetWare is an effort to promote the sharing of information, know-how, and wisdom among researchers and groups who are working in biology and biological engineering. OWW, which is managed by the BioBricks Foundation, provides a place for labs, individuals, and groups to organize their own information and collaborate with others easily and efficiently. In the process, it is expected that OWW will not only lead to greater collaboration between member groups, but also provide a useful information portal for the rest of the world.
- Center for Open ScienceProvides expertise, tools, and training to help researchers create and promote open science within their teams and institutions. Promoting these practices within the research funding and publishing communities accelerates scientific progress. The Open Science Framework supports the entire research lifecycle: planning, execution, reporting, archiving, and discovery.
Open Source
This video is a simple explanation of how open source projects manage change as well as the structure, roles, and terminology of open source software.
- Open Source InitiativeAs a global non-profit, The Open Source Initiative (OSI) protects and promotes open source software, development, and communities. OSI champions software freedom in society through education, collaboration, and infrastructure. OSI's mission involves stewarding the Open Source Definition (OSD) and preventing abuse of the ideals and ethos inherent to the open source movement.
- Federal Source Code PolicyThe Administration made a commitment, as part of its Second Open Government National Action Plan, to “develop an open source software policy that, together with the Digital Services Playbook, will support improved access to custom software code developed for the Federal government.” This policy fulfills that commitment in an effort to improve U.S. Government software development and make the government more open, transparent, and accessible to the public.
- CODE.govThe Federal Source Code Policy is designed to support reuse and public access to custom-developed Federal source code. It requires new custom-developed source code developed specifically by or for the Federal Government to be made available for sharing and re-use across all Federal agencies.
Citizen Science
Citizen Science is scientific work undertaken by members of the general public, often in collaboration with or under the direction of professional scientists and scientific institutions. Citizen science ;allows everyone to contribute to science no matter where they are. Whether by asking questions, reporting observations, conducting experiments, collecting data, or developing low-cost technologies and open-source code, members of the public can use their alents to help advance scientific knowledge and contribute to a greater good. Open Access enables citizen scientists by providing greater access to scholarly content.
For more information, see the Citizen Science Library Guide
5 Reasons to become a Citizen Scientist!
- There's a project for every passion:music, games, history, space exploration, hiking, biology, and more!
- Learn new stuff!
- Help researchers learn new stuff!
- Make an immediate impact on how we understand our universe!
- It's fun!
