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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 Data

An illustration depicting the influence of open data within the global movement (click on image to expand).

The Open Data Movement

Support for Open Data from the Federal Government

Open Science

The following talk gives a short introduction to open science, and an explanation of why it’s so important for our society.

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.

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!

  1. There's a project for every passion:music, games, history, space exploration, hiking, biology, and more!
  2. Learn new stuff!
  3. Help researchers learn new stuff!
  4. Make an immediate impact on how we understand our universe!
  5. It's fun!