Open research, open scholarship, and open science are all relatively interchangeable terms whose purpose is "to foster greater transparency and trust for the benefit of scientific research" (European Commission).
The most widespread open research practice is providing open access to publications, particularly when the underpinning research has been funded by public bodies, such as the members of cOAlition S (which includes 13 European national funders and several other organisations) and the National Institutes of Health in the US.
Ireland aims to achieve 100% immediate open access to research publications by 2030 (National Action Plan for Open Research).
Other common practices include using persistent identifiers, providing open access to data, and creating and using open educational resources. You can find more about how we support these activities at the University of Galway in the links at the bottom of this page.
If you want to make your work even more robust, rigorous, and sustainable, further components include:
If you're conducting qualitative research with human participants, the way you structure your Participant Information and Informed Consent forms will determine how open you can make your data and other outputs.
Instead of assuming that all participants want to be anonymous, and that they want their data kept under embargo and then destroyed, consider asking for their opinion--you may be surprised!
Sample questions for Informed Consent forms:
How would you like to be identified in the project datasets and publications?
Do you give permission for your contributions to be deposited in [Name of repository] for future research and learning?
Please note that any other personally identifying information must be kept confidential to comply with GDPR, and a DPIA must be undertaken if necessary.
Always remember to ask for copyright transfer to the University of Galway for participant contributions to ensure that you can quote them in your publications.
For further information, please see the University of Galway Research Ethics pages.
Many things are better with friends, and this is especially true of open research. In Galway, we have a number of ways for you to join our communities.
Open Scholarship Community Galway: local branch (including Atlantic Technological University) of the International Open Science and Scholarship Communities network, with 2300 members across 18 countries
ReproducibiliTEA journal club: hybrid meetings to discuss a pre-selected paper – this is an ideal way to start your journey to open research. Volunteer introducers and reading suggestions are always welcome!
Digital Humanities Research Group: seminars offered by the DHRG covering digital projects undertaken by Galway researchers (mailing list and registration available via the link)
MakerSpace: all staff and students have access to free 3D printing, drones, VR headsets, tripods, and more in the MakerSpace. Come to a workshop and see how you could incorporate these resources into your next project! Students will receive full training on all the equipment when they volunteer to facilitate workshops and help to maintain the space.
Open Research Café: informal meetings in person for researchers and support staff to share experiences and ask questions
Please email Jen Smith, Open Research Librarian, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about other groups in Galway.
University of Galway librarians have a wealth of experience in supporting research practice across the institution.
Please see the following guides for more information:
The Library proactively supports and enhances the learning, teaching, and research activities of the University. The Library acts as a catalyst for your success as University of Galway’s hub for scholarly information discovery, sharing, and publication.
Library
University of Galway
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