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WHAT IS OPEN SCIENCE?

“An inclusive construct that combines diverse movements and practices in order to make scientific knowledge openly available and accessible to all, as well as reusable by all, increasing scientific collaborations and the exchange of information for the benefit of science and society , and the processes of creation, evaluation and communication of scientific knowledge are opened to social agents beyond the traditional scientific community.” (UNESCO, 2021)

Main statements:

Spanish statements:

  • Ley 17/2022, de 5 de septiembre de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación Article 37 about Open science. Researchers in the public sector or whose research activity is financed mostly with public funds and choose to disseminate their research results in scientific publications, must deposit a copy of the final version accepted and the data associated of the publication in institutional or thematic open access repositories, simultaneously with the publication date. 
  • Ley Orgánica 2/2023, de 22 de marzo, del Sistema Universitario. Article 12 about promotion of Open Science and Citizen Science. The PDI must share a copy of the final version accepted for publication as well as the associated data in an open access institutional or thematic repository, simultaneously with the publication date. Data must follow the FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable).
  • Estrategia Nacional de Ciencia Abierta (ENCA) 2023_2027. Four important points: 1) Digital infrastructures for open science; 2) Research data management following FAIR principles; 3) Open access to scientific publications; 4) Incentives, recognition and training. 

Open science (OS) has the potential of making the scientific process more transparent, inclusive and democratic.

  • It increases scientific collaborations and sharing of information for the benefits of science and society;
  • It makes multilingual scientific knowledge openly available, accessible and reusable for everyone; and
  • It opens the processes of scientific knowledge creation, evaluation and communication to societal actors beyond the traditional scientific community.

Our interconnected world needs open science to help solve complex social, environmental, and economic challenges and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

By promoting science that is more accessible, inclusive and transparent, open science furthers the right of everyone to share in scientific advancement and its benefits as stated in Article 27.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

  • It’s based on the publication of any kind of research 
  • It’s a collaborative science 
  • Everyone has access to the research 
  • It’s an interdisciplinary science 
  • It’s a citizen science 
  • Credit science based in researcher’s impact 
  • New metrics

Science and technology are transformative forces that have granted humans the capacity to alter ecosystems, the Earth’s climate, and even the building blocks of matter and life itself. R&I have improved our world and our lives in many ways, and will most likely continue to do so.
However, parallel to the large positive impact on human welfare and wellbeing, science and technology sometimes create new risks and ethical dilemmas, fail in solving the problems they are meant to, and spur controversy.
Over the last decades many efforts have tried to reduce the distance between science and society, leading to a European-wide approach in Horizon 2020 called Responsible Research and Innovation. RRI seeks to bring issues related to research and innovation into the open, to anticipate their consequences, and to involve society in discussing how science and technology can help create the kind of world and society we want for generations to come. Discover more information here.

RRI is:

  • Involving society in science and innovation ‘very upstream’ in the processes of R&I to align its outcomes with the values of society.
  • A wide umbrella connecting different aspects of the relationship between R&I and society: public engagement, open access, gender equality, science education, ethics, and governance.
  • A cross-cutting issue in Horizon 2020, the EU Programme for Research and Innovation 2014-2020.

OPEN ACCESS TO PUBLICATIONS

Open Access (OA) provides free online access to all available scientific information (articles, monographs, research data…) under a license so that it can be used and exploited by everyone. Open Access mainly covers two types of scientific information: publications resulting from research (journal articles, conference papers, reports, theses and academic papers, etc.) and research data.  


Following UNESCO OA policy (2013): any type of digital content can be published in open access: from texts and databases to software and audio, video, and multimedia media.

IEU University recommends our affiliated researchers to self-archive their scientific articles after they have been published in our institutional Repository. Also, Doctoral dissertations should be published openly with a selected Creative Common License.

 

If your research has been funded, it’s mandatory to mention the Grant and to add a “Funder Acknowledgment text in your article.

ROUTES OF OPEN ACCESS PUBLICATIONS

 

  • Diamond OA: you publish in an Open Access Journal without any cost to authors and readers. 
  • Gold OA: you must pay for publishing in Open Access in an Open Access or Subscription Journal.
  • Green OA: it consists in deposit your publication in an Open Access Repository (considering the embargo period, correct version and license) 
  • Bronce OA: the Open Access version it’s only in the editor’s site without reusing license.

VERSIONS OF SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE (APC)

The Transformative Agreements is a partnership between the publishers and institutions (libraries or other kind of consortia) where among the subscription, the option of publish in Open Access in their journals without extra cost. In 2021, CRUE-CSIC has arranged their first agreement with the aim of advancing the socialization of knowledge through increasing free access to it. This changes the traditional model academic subscription into a sustainable and open system.

In the IEU Library, our researchers have the opportunity to publish a limited number of articles from a specific list without assuming the cost of the publication Article Processing Charge (APC), we manage the requests in collaboration with the Research Department. If you need support with this, contact us at openaccess@ie.edu.

 

The IEU Library has Transformative Agreements with:

Additional information: IEU researchers interested in publishing with SAGE are eligible for a 15% discount. Upon receiving the request, the Research Department will review and approve the submission.

HOW TO REQUEST AN APC

IEU Library collaborates with Research Department to manage and approve the APCs. Each year, the IEU Library has a limited number of credits available for each Agreement. An APC is used for each publication. Once you have submitted your article, we will manage the process. Check out these guides to see how to submit your Article:

Upon submission of your request, the IEU Library will receive a notification. The Research Office will assess the request to determine whether to approve or deny the Article Processing Charge (APC). This decision will be based if the article meets the required criteria and the availability of APCs. After the approval or rejection, the journal notifies the result to the researcher. If the submission is rejected, the researcher will need to cover the APC, which is usually funded by their research group.

You must deposit a copy of the publication in the IE Repository.

OPEN DATA vs FAIR DATA & RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT

OPEN DATA

Open Data refers to data that is made publicly accessible and reusable without restrictions, allowing for transparency, collaboration, and innovation across various fields. The principle of Open Data promotes the idea that information should be freely available to anyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents, or other control mechanisms. According to the Open Knowledge Foundation, Open Data is “data that can be freely used, modified, and shared by anyone for any purpose” (Open Knowledge Foundation, 2015). The European Data Portal also highlights how Open Data can drive economic growth and improve public services by enabling businesses, researchers, and citizens to build upon shared information resources (European Data Portal, 2020).

FAIR DATA

As we try to be as open access as possible, a series of good practices for scientific data research were needed. This is because data is starting to be considered as the main production of scientific research, as its reproduction is necessary to guarantee its reproducibility.  

In March 2016 was published The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship, which offers a set of precise and measurable qualities that a data publication should follow so that the data is:

    • Findable: the data and metadata can be found by everyone after its publication, through searching tools.  
    • Accesible: the data and metadata are accessible and can be downloaded by other researchers using their identifiers. 
    • Interoperable: the data and metadata must be definied following the community rules, using open standards to let its exchange and reuse.  
    • Reusable: the data and metadata can be reused by other researchers, knowing its origin and reusable conditions.  

Check out this FAIR tool to see how FAIR your research is. 

RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT PLAN

A Research Data Management Plan (DMP) is a formal document that outlines how researchers will handle the data they collect, use, and store throughout a research project. DMPs are integral to responsible research practices as they promote data security, ethical handling, and long-term accessibility. In addition to ensuring compliance with funding agencies that may require data-sharing protocols, a well-constructed DMP can streamline data processing, aid in collaboration, and increase the research’s impact by making data reusable. An effective data management can improve the efficiency and replicability of research, thus playing a critical role in Open Science and collaborative efforts.

Some tips to create a DMP:

  • Define the types of data: Specify what data will be collected and how it will be organized and stored
  • Include metadata: Describe the data content and context to enhance discoverability and understanding for future users.
  • Establish protocols for data sharing and preservation:
      • Choose suitable repositories.
      • Define licenses and formats that facilitate data access and reuse.
  • Implement security measures: Protect sensitive information through encryption and access controls
  • Review the DMP periodically: Ensure the plan remains aligned with project goals and external guidelines over time.