Open science does not have one central definition or framework. However, we like how Ramachandran et al. (2021) defines it; they say open science is “a collaborative culture enabled by technology that empowers the open sharing of data, information, and knowledge within the scientific community and the wider public to accelerate scientific research and understanding.” Broadly, it is a collection of ideas, principles, and practices that attempt to increase the quantity and quality of scientific production as well as facilitate the public’s interaction with science through openness and transparency.
Yes! One might argue that the term open science excludes the Arts, Humanities, and the Social Sciences, but all disciplines stand to benefit from open science principles. That’s why you might hear people use the terms “open research” or “open scholarship”.
Open-source science (OSS) is a part of open science. Open-source science is a commitment to the open sharing of software, data, and knowledge (algorithms, papers, documents, ancillary information) from the start of research activities. The principles of OSS are to make publicly funded scientific research transparent, inclusive, accessible, and reproducible. All of these aspects of open-source science are intentionally a part of open science.
Both. Open science is more than just the open sharing of data and code. It also is a cultural shift in the scientific process that encourages collaboration among people of diverse backgrounds, including scientific field, gender, location, ethnicity, and expertise. By removing barriers to participation in the scientific process, open-source science is inherently inclusive and collaborative. NASA’s vision is to use open science principles to expand participation in the scientific process, improve reproducibility, and accelerate scientific discovery for societal benefit. Technological considerations include use of existing investments in infrastructure and mechanisms for community contributions, while limiting the proliferation of unvalidated data.
Open science is the commitment to the full, free, and open sharing of data, code and knowledge as early in the research process as possible. To learn more about NASA’s work and policy in this area, go to https://science.nasa.gov/open-science-overview
One of the principles of open science is proper attribution of previous work, collaborations, and knowledge used from various sources. Making your code open, appropriately licenced, and assigning it a DOI will help researchers track developing code.
Open science makes the scientific process better and easier for both the researchers and the public alike. By making science more transparent, open science allows for increased collaboration between researchers as well as growing the flow of crucial scientific information to the public. It also democratizes the scientific process by allowing people who were previously gatekept to now participate in science.
Transform to Open Science (TOPS) is a five-year initiative designed to support scientists, agencies, organizations, and communities as they transform to an inclusive culture of open science. Many TOPS activities will be focused around 2023 as NASA’s Year of Open Science. In partnership with major scientific organizations, Year of Open Science is designed to spark change and inspire open science engagement through events and activities that will shift the current paradigm. Sign up for the TOPS newsletter to keep up-to-date on the latest Year of Open Science activities and developments.
We have three goals. We want:
- For 20,000 people to complete our Open Science course and earn our Open Science Badge,
- To support at least 5 major discoveries, and
- To double participation of underrepresented groups.