Towards wide-scale adoption of open science practices: The role of open science communities

Abstract

Despite the increasing availability of Open Science (OS) infrastructure and the rise in policies to change behaviour, OS practices are not yet the norm. While pioneering researchers are developing OS practices, the majority sticks to status quo. To transition to common practice, we must engage a critical proportion of the academic community. In this transition, OS Communities (OSCs) play a key role. OSCs are bottom-up learning groups of scholars that discuss OS within and across disciplines. They make OS knowledge more accessible and facilitate communication among scholars and policymakers. Over the past two years, eleven OSCs were founded at several Dutch university cities. In other countries, similar OSCs are starting up. In this article, we discuss the pivotal role OSCs play in the large-scale transition to OS. We emphasize that, despite the grassroot character of OSCs, support from universities is critical for OSCs to be viable, effective, and sustainable.

Developing an open science ‘mindset’

“…For example, basic awareness of open science practices, and the need for change in the way research is conducted is still relatively sparse (Bueno de la Fuente, 2016 ; Heise & Pearce, 2020 ). Knowledge of open science practices is also ‘patchy’ and uptake tends to be dependent on whether research groups have a strong open science advocate in their ranks, or whether their particular research or professional organization, or leading journal, has sufficiently embraced open science practices (Armeni et al, 2021 ). There is also a substantive training deficit – few undergraduate and graduate degree programs include integral or even optional content on open science practices (Jekel et al, 2020 ; Strand & Brown, 2019 ).…”

“…Given that open science is yet to become standard practice among psychology researchers, I believe that adopting an open science mindset also means to become an open science advocate more broadly (see for example Armeni et al, 2021 ; The FOSTER consortium, 2021b ). Researchers can do many things to raise awareness of and advocate for open science practice.…”

UKRN Checklist for an Open Research Action Plan

“…The universities of Reading and York have organised Open Research-themed conferences; 32 35 In the Netherlands, an Open Science Communities network has evolved and is spreading internationally. 36 Champions can be supported by members of professional services and may be able to access funding to support activities, such as holding workshops, organising training sessions, attending conferences and training outside the University, and participating in external projects.…”

Towards a culture of open scholarship: the role of pedagogical communities

“…We propose that pedagogical communities play a fundamental role in incorporating open scholarship in higher education with the view to improve future research practice and culture. Pedagogical communities are educationally-oriented ‘open science communities’ [ 10 ] that make open science knowledge accessible and facilitate communication between academia and policy. They also advocate for the integration of open scholarship into higher education and raise awareness of its pedagogical implications and associated challenges.…”